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ORGAN  OF  THE  PRIESTHOOD  QUORUMS  AND  THE  YOUN< 
MEN'S    MUTUAL    IMPROVEMENT    ASSOCIATIONS 
OF    THE    CHURCH}  OF    JESUS   CHRIST 


i<shed 


Before  tbe  Smoke  Clear*  Away 

On  yourfire-stricken  shop,  factory,office 
or  store,  you  can  resume  business  if  in- 
sured with  us.  No  loner  unnecessary 
delays  in  adjusting,  no  haggling  over 
terms;  but  prompt  payment  of  losses 
every  time.  It's  to  our  interest  to  get 
you  set  up  in  business  again — we  can 
insure  you  again. 

Home  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Utah 
HEBER  J.  GRAJT  &  Co.,  General  Agts. 

20-26  South  Main  St.,  Salt  Lake  City/Utah 


BOTH  PHONES.  3S1. 

Jos.  Wm.  Taylor 

Utah's  Leading  Undertaker 
and  Licensed  Embalmer. 


Fine    Funeral  Onapel,  Private 
Parlor,Show  Rooms  and  Morgue 

OFFICE  OPEN  DAY  AND  NIGHT 

21,  23,  25   South  West   Temple  Street 

SALT  LAKE  CITY.  UTAH 


Established  1889. 


Capital,  $200,000 


Utah 

Commercial  and  Savings 

Bank. 


4°fc 


Interest,  computed  semi-annually,  on 
0  Savings  Deposits. 

Commercial  Banking  in  all  its  branches. 
Accounts  of  Banks  and  Individuals  solicited. 
Customers  assured  the  best  accommodations 
consistent  'with  conservative  and  safe  banking. 

Wm.  F.  Armstrong,  Byron  Groo,  ." 

President.  Cashier. 

(When  writing1  to  Advertisers 


SciliC  LiBI  If  Till 
WirM 


THROUGH 
PULLMAN  AND 

TOURIST 
SLEEPERS  TO 

DENVER, 
ST.  LOUIS 
AND' 
QHIGAGO 

For  Folders,  Booklets,  otc,  ad- 
dress    I.  A.  BENTON,  C.A.P.D., 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


The  STATE  BANK 

O  T-T  T  IT*  A  \A Salt  Lah* City' u,ah 

V/"         U    X  /A.JT1  V,tnhU,h,A   1X90. 


THIS  Bank  solicits  the  accounts  of 
banks,  firms  and  individuals,  and 
extends  to  such  customers  every 
reasonable  courtesy  and  facility. 


Joseph  F.  Smith,  Prest, 
Anthon  H.  Lund,F.Pr*t. 


Chas.S.  Burton,Cathier 
H.TMcEwatiyAsit.Cash 


please  mention  the  ERA.) 


Brigham  Young. 

"With  matchless  will  and  energy,  he  laid  hold  of  the 
stupendous  exodus  of  a  people,  and,  amidst  indescribable 
suffering  and  hardship,  piloted  them  through  the  deserts 
and  over  the  mountains  to  a  new  home  in  the  wilderness. 

"In  the  crowning  period  of  his  career,  he  founded,  in 
this  new  retreat,  a  commonwealth  to  which  he  invited  thous- 
ands of  the  poor  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  rescued 
them  from  poverty  and  raised  them  to  independence,  taught 
them  honesty,  thrift,  industry,  patriotism  for  their  adopted 
country;  and, with  the  keen  foresight  of  a  statesman, showed 
them  how  to  develop  the  hidden  resources  of  their  surround- 
ings. He  founded  hundreds  of  cities  and  towns,  and  com- 
pleted for  his  people  an  organization  unsurpassed  in  the 
annals  of  history. 

"For  more  than  thirty  years  he  was  their  spiritual 
guide  and  their  temporal  leader;  and,  dying,  he  left  upon 
them  and  their  institutions  the  ineffaceable  impress  of  his 
master  mind  and  character.'' — Life  of  Brigham  Young, 
Edward  H.  Anderson. 


From  a  photograph  taken  in  1864. 


President  Brigham  Young. 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA. 


Vol.  XIV.  JANUARY,  1911.  No.  3 

President  Brigham  Young's  Excursion 
Party. 

BY  SOLOMON   F.    KIMBALL. 


I. 

Many  old-timers  will  remember  with  pleasure  a  trip  made  by 
President  Brigham  Young  and  company  to  St.  George,  Utah,  in 
1864.  It  was  customary  in  those  days  for  the  authorities  of  the 
Church  to  visit  every  settlement  of  consequence  throughout  Zion, 
at  least  once  a  year.  There  were  no  railroads  then,  nor  telegraph 
communication,  to  make  travel  easy,  or  to  disturb  the  quietude  of 
the  people,  and  every  settlement  constituted  a  little  world  within 
itself.  The  Saints  always  looked  forward  with  joy  and  satisfaction 
to  these  annual  visits.  Notwithstanding  their  straightened  circum- 
stances,they  did  what  they  could  to  make  pleasant  the  presence  of 
those  who  had  come  so  far — frequently  under  trying  circum- 
stances— to  feed  them  the  bread  of  life,  and  to  teach  them  how  to 
prosper  as  citizens  in  a  land  so  far  from  civilization.  They  realized 
that  none  but  men  of  God  would  leave  their  owa  home  affairs,  and 
spend  the  greater  portion  of  their  time  helping  to  build  up  others, 
to  whom  they  were  in  no  particular  way  obligated. 

During  the  early  60's  the  Saints  of  Southern  Utah  had  grown 
so  prosperous  that  they  urged  President  Young  to  bring  along 


190 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


JOHN    TAYUIK. 


with  him  more  of  the  younger  people  than  usual  in  his  visits,  as 
they  were  then  in  a  position  to  entertain  them.  They  believed  that 
a  change  of  this  kind  would  go  far  towards  making  their  long  and 

often  tedious  journey  more  pleasant  and 
prove  a  blessing  to  all  concerned.  Their 
great  leader  listened  with  interest, 
looked  wise,  but  said  nothing  as  to  what 
he  intended  doing. 

The  next  year,  however,  he  dispatched 
messengers  on  horseback  to  notify  the 
gdji  I^flkjg  ■  Saints  of  Southern  Utah  that  his  large 
W  m        excursion  party  was  ready  to  start   to 

m Hjj*  V         "the  land  of  cotton,"  and  for  them  to 

™  l  ,:.'/'*'  govern    themselves  accordingly.      They 

^H        W-'  were  asked  to  announce  that  the  party 

was  to  consist  of  thirteen  light  vehicles, 
and  two  baggage  wagons, and  would  be 
composed  of  the  following  persons:  Brig- 
ham  Young,  John  Taylor,  Wilford  Wood- 
ruff, George  A.  Smith,  Ezra  T.  Benson, 
Lorenzo  Snow,  Franklin  D.  Richards, 
Eliza  R.  Snow,  Vilate  M.  Kimball,  Robert 
T.  Burton,  John  R.  Winder,  Theresa 
Burton,  Amelia  F.  Young,  David  0. 
Calder,  Anna  H.  Calder.  John  T.  Caine, 
David  McKenzie,  Philip  Margetts,  Harry 
Bowring,  Sarah  Alexander,  George  D. 
Watts,  Hamilton  J.  Park,  Agnes  Park, 
Willard  Richards,  A.  Milton  Musser, 
Peter  Horrocks,  Catherine  D.  Horrocks, 
John  Squires,  Lewis  Robinson,  Seymour  B.  Young,  Fannie  Young, 
Thomas  Jenkins,  Janette  Young,  Louis  S.  Hills,  Ella  Young,  Emily 
Young,  James  T.  Little,  Leonard  Rice,  William  VanNetta,  Theo- 
dore Calkins,  Mary  E.  Kimball,  Elvira  F.  Kimball,  Richard  J.  Tay- 
lor, Byron  Roberts,  Chariton  Jacobs,  Oscar  S.  Young,  Hyrum  S. 
Young  and  the  writer. 

On  Monday  morning,  September  1,  1864,  at  9:45  o'clock,  one 
of  the  jolliest  crowds  that  ever  left  Salt  Lake  City  started  on  its 


WILFORD    WOODRUFF. 


PRESIDENT  BRIGHAM  YOUNG' S  EXCURSION  PARTY. 


191 


journey.  They  drove  to  pleasant  Grove  without  a  stop.  Between 
Lehi  and  American  Fork  they  encountered  one  of  the  severest  hail 
storms  that  ever  visited  that  part  of  Utah. 
The  next  day  they  reached  Payson.  As 
they  passed  through  Provo,  they  picked  up 
William  B.  Pace,  and  a  first-class  string 
band.  Wilson  and  Warren  Dusenberry 
were  two  of  the  members.  A  meeting  was 
held  in  the  evening,  at  which  Apostles  Lo- 
renzo Snow  and  Franklin  D.  Richards  were 
the  speakers. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
3rd,  the  company  arrived  at  Salt  Creek, 
now  Nephi.  The  farther  from  home,  the 
greater  the  enthusiasm  became,  and  the 
more  anxious  the  people  were  to  see  them. 
By  this  time  things  were  growing  attract- 
ive. Even  some  of  the  older  members  of 
the  party  began  to  have  their  interests 
awakened.  It  seemed  as  if  every  man, 
woman  and  child  in  the  place  was  out  in 
holiday  attire.  They  lined  both  sides  of 
the  streets  for  blocks,  and  shouted  praises 
to  their  leaders  as  they  passed  by.  A  brass 
band  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  cavalry, 
with  colors  flying,  came  out  to  meet  the 
party,  and  discoursed  sweet  music  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all.  Enthusiasm  was  at 
a  high  pitch,  and  all  enjoyed  themselves  to 
the  fullest  extent.  Two  meetings  were 
held  during  the  day,  and  a  dance  at  night 
ended  the  third  day's  program.  The  next 
morning  there  was  anothe  r  meeting.and  Presi 
dent  Young  delivered  an  excellent  discourse, 
which   gladdened  the   hearts  of  hundreds. 

By  this  time  the  excursionists  were  becoming  better  acquainted, 
and  a  spirit  of  mirthfulness  began  to  crop  out  in  various  forms, 


WILSON      DUSKNBERTiY 

Born  April,  1811. 


WAKEEN      IHSENBEKKY 

Bora  Nov.    1,  l&iG. 


192 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


LORENZO     SNOW. 


FRANKLIN  D.   RICHARDS 


EZRA  T.   BENSON. 


After  dinner  they  kidnapped  the  Salt 
Creek  brass  band,  body  and  breeches, 
taking  it  right  along  with  them.  This 
amusing  incident,  in  connection  with 
other  pranks  that  were  indulged  in, 
added  to  the  feeling  of  merriment  that 
possessed  the  whole  company.  For  the 
remainder  of  the  trip  the  band  was  an 
important  division  of  the  party. 

The  party  drove  to  Round  Galley  that 
day,  and  arrived  at  Fillmore  the  next 
afternoon.  Here  they  remained  two 
days  and  nights,  enjoying  a  continuous 
feast  of  pleasure.  When  they  arrived 
within  two  miles  of  Fillmore,  they  met 
one  of  the  jolliest  escorts  that  ever  led 
a  presidential  party  into  a  Utah  town. 
Judging  by  the  number  it  consisted  of 
nearly  every  man  and  boy  in  Millard 
county — each  of  whom  was  mounted  on 
some  kind  of  an  animal:  narrow-backed 
horses  of  wide  experience, and  long-haired 
mules  that  mocked  the  Missouri  mob — 
played  prominent  parts  in  the  procession 
that  proceeded  down  Fillmore's  principal 
avenue.  When  this  gallant  gang  of  armed 
guardsmen  galloped  into  line  at  the  head 
of  the  president's  party,  and  proceeded 
on  their  way  through  a  cloud  of  dust, 
peals  of  laughter  rang  out  from  a  hun- 
dred throats.  This  was  the  comical 
straw  that  broke  the  camel's  back, 
and  everybody  was  convulsed  with 
laughter. 

As  this  peculiar  procession  passed 
down  Fillmore's  main  street,  terrific 
blasts   from  the   kidnapped  brass  band, 


PRESIDENT  BEIGE  AM  YO  UNG'  S  EXCURSION  PARTY.       193 


EMILY  YOUNG,    ill    1863. 

Born    March,   1849. 


playing  one  of  their  fantasias  in 
B.,  caused  the  excited  crowd  to 
wonder  what  thing  was  coming  next. 
Just  before  the  procession  reached  the 
Capitol  Building,  anvils  boomed,  cows 
bellowed,  horses  bucked,  donkeys 
brayed,  women  shouted,  youngsters 
yelled,  and  dogs  yelped;  while  savage 
red  men  looked  on,  wondering  what 
pranks  the  pale  face  people  would 
play  next. 

After  the  deafening  din  died  down, 
the  squawking  of  yellow-legged  chick- 
ens and  the  quacking  of  big,fat  ducks 
could  be  heard  in  all  parts  of  town,  as 
the  high  executioners  of  Fillmore  were  dexterously  performing  the 
ax  act.  At  that  time  Fillmore  was  the  home  of  the  Lymans,  the 
Callisters,  the  Kings,  the  McBrides,  and  many  other  good  and 
broad-minded  people  who  never  did  things  by  halves. 

Before  the  president's  party  had  fairly  time  to  arrange  their 
toilets,  the  big  feast  began  in  earnest.  Brother  John  Squires,  the 
rough  and  ready  razor  man  of  the  company,  was  so  rushed  that 
when  it  came  the  boys'  turn  to  be 
shaved,  he  dexterously,  but  not  very 
mildly,  made  the  fur  fly  from  their 
fuzzy  faces. 

Great  preparations  for  the  banquet 
had  been  going  on  for  days,  no  other 
incident  of  like  importance  having 
occurred  before,  south  of  Salt  Lake 
City.  Armful  after  armful  of  the 
choicest  fruits,  meats  and  vege- 
tables of  every  variety  were  placed 
upon  the  tables  before  them,  until  the 
master  of  ceremonies  was  compelled 
to  call  a  halt  for  further  arrange- 
ments to  be  made.  Waiters  actually 
groaned  and  tables  tottered  under  the 


FANNIE     YOUNG    (THATCHER) 

Born  January  25,  1849. 


194 


IMPRO  \  rEMENT  ERA . 


DAVID  MCKENZIE, 

Horn  December  27.  18'W 


heavy  weight  of  custard  pies,  frosted  cakes,  preserved  fruits,  and 
scores  of  other  delicious  delicacies  awaiting  the  hungry  Salt  Lakers. 
Before  darkness  brooded  over  this  land  of  good  things,  a 
grand  ball  was  opened  in  honor  of  this  event- 
ful visit,  which  was  so  far  ahead  of  the 
ordinary  country  dance  that  comparison 
would  be  out  of  the  question.  It  took  place 
in  the  large  and  commodious  twenty-eight 
thousand  dollar  Capitol  Building,  which  had 
been  thoroughly  renovated  and  elaborately 
decorated  for  the  occasion.  Excellent 
music  was  furnished  by  the  famous  "Fill- 
more Fiddle-band,"  under  the  superior 
leadership  of  Daniel  Olson,  one  of  the  noted 
violinists  in  the   western  country. 

Prominent  citizens  came  from  far  and 
near  to  have  a  good  time,  and  the  spirit  of 
dance  seemed  to  be  in  the  very  air.  The 
older  members  of  the  party  retired  early, 
leaving  the  dance  to  the  middle  aged  and 
young,  who  moved  things  along  with  vim 
and  dispatch. 

After  a  late  supper,  it  was  hard  to  tell 
which  division  of  the  party  was  getting  the 
best  of  the  situation,  as  all  seemed  to  be 
enjoying  themselves  to  the  very  limit. 
"Highland  Flings,"  "Pigeon  Wings"  and 
other  fancy  steps  taken  by  the  Fillmoreites, 
surely  demonstrated  that  they  were  more 
than  equal  for  the  occasion.  Phil  Mar- 
getts.  Harry  Bowring,  Sarah  Alexander  and 
a  dozen  other  fun-makers,  in  the  way  of 
innocent  amusement,  captured  the  best  cor- 
ner in  the  Capitol,  and  such  capers  as  they 
cut  were  never  before  dreamed  of  by  the 
unsuspecting  citizens  of  Southern  Utah. 

Daylight  finally  brought  everything  to  a 
standstill,  and  what  few  live  roosters  were 


FRANCIS.     M.    LYMAN 


THERESA  BURTON. 

Born  March  26,  1848. 


PRESIDENT  BRIGHAM  YD UNG'  S  EXCURSION  PA RTY.        195 


LOUIS  S.    HILLS,    IN   lfcGS. 

Born  March  8,  1836. 


left  in  town  were  exerting  every  vocal  power  imaginable  to  impress 
upon  the  minds   of  the  happy  party  that 
the  time  was   fully  ripe  for  them   to   be 
moving  on. 

At  5  a.  m.  the  kidnapped  brass  band 
came  to  life,  and  played  "Oh,  Dear,  What 
can  the  Matter  Be?"  so  long  and  loud,  that 
everybody  gathered  from  every  direction  to 
learn,  if  possible,  what  was  the  matter. 
Brother  George  A.  Smith,  the  only  300- 
pound  man  in  town,  mounted  an  old  work- 
bench, and,  with  stentorian  voice,  informed 
the  feasting  excursionists  that  there  were  other  settlers  south 
of  Millard  county  anxiously  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  entertain 
them  on  the  fat  of  the  land,  and  that  the  frightened  fowls  of  Fill- 
in  >re  were  right — that  it  was  about  time  "for  them  to  be 
moving  on." 

Saturday  evening  put  a  stop  to  the  festivities.  Everything  of 
a  liyht-minded  nature  was  dropped.  The  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  was 
at  hand,  and  the  Saints,  who  had  enjoyed  themselves  to  the  utter- 

imost,were  now  ready 
for  the  solemn 
change.  The  author- 
ities, thus  far,  had 
done  what  they  could 
to  make  the  journey 
a  joyful  one,  but 
they  never  permit- 
ted recreative  pleas- 
ure to  interfere  with 
sacred  things. 

While  visiting  the 
Saints  in  these  far- 
off  settlements  } 
where  there  were  no 
amusements  to 
capitol  building,  fillmore.  speak  of ,  it  was  nee- 


196 


IMPR  0  VEMENT  ERA . 


GEORGE    A.    SMITH. 


JOHN    SQUIRES. 

Bom  December  23,  1820. 
Died  November   13,  1901 


DANIEL     OLSON. 

Born  at  Copenhagen  in  1831: 
Died  May  9,  1893. 


essary  to  say  and  do  things  that  would 
bring  cheer  to  the  hard-working  set- 
tlers. Even  in  meeting  it  was,  there- 
fore, not  unusual,  in  those  days,  for 
the  speakers  lo  refer  to  conditions, 
circumstances  and  situations  that 
were  both  amusing  and  pathetic,  often 
causing  the  congregation  to  alternate 
between  laughter  and  tears.  The 
talks,  in  this  way,  entered  their  lives, 
and  consequently  the  instructions 
were  long  remembered,  and  aided 
greatly  in  keeping  the  people  in  good 
spirits  until  their  leaders  came  again. 
President  Young  had  brought  this 
jolly  crowd  with  him  for  this  very 
purpose,  and  their  presence  did  the 
Saints  a  world  of  good. 

Sunday  morning,  September  7,  at 
10  o'clock,  the  largest  congregation 
ever  assembled  in  Millard  county 
gathered  to  listen  to  the  inspired  re- 
marks of  Apostles  Lorenzo  Snow, 
Franklin  D.  Richards,  Ezra  T.  Benson, 
John  Taylor  and  Wilford  Woodruff. 
In  the  afternoon  Apostle  Orson  Hyde, 
who  joined  the  party  at  Sevier 
bridge, and  President  Brigham  Young, 
occupied  the  time.  Such  an  outpour- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  never  felt 
before  in  that  part  of  Zion. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening, in  order 
to  shorten  the  next  day's  drive,  the 
company  proceeded  te  Corn  Creek, 
now  Kanosh,  Apostle  Amasa  M.  Ly- 
man accompanying  them.  The  next 
day  they  reached  Beaver,    after  the 


PRESIDENT  BRIGHA M  YO UNG' S  EXCURSION  PARTY.       ] 97 


hardest  day's  drive  of  the  trip.  All 
day  long  they  faced  a  blinding  dust 
storm.  A  meeting  was  called  in  the 
evening,  but  the  majority  of  the  com- 
pany went  to  rest  early,  as  they  were 
pretty  well  tired  out.  Miss  Mary 
White,  a  resident  of  Beaver,  joined 
the  party  here,  and  remained  with  it 
until  they  returned  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
Tuesday,  at 5  p.m.,  they  arrived  at 
Parowan,  the  home  town  of  Apostle 
George  A.  Smith,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day  drove  to  Cedar  City.  Meet- 
ings were  held  at  both  places,  and  a 
spiritual  feast  was  enjoyed  by  the 
multitude  that  came  from  far  and  near. 
The  Saints  throughout  the 
country  had  harvested  a 
bountiful  crop,  and  the  peo- 
ple on  all  sides  were  praising 
the  Lord.  It  seemed  like 
the  very  windows  of  heaven 
had  been  thrown  wide  open, 
and  bles-ings  poured  out  upon 
the  Saints,  until  there  was 
hardly  room  to  contain 
them. 

Orchards  and  gardens  were 
teeming  with  good  things, 
and  everybody  had  plenty  and 
to  spare.  Wagon-loads  of 
melons  and  choice  fruits  of 
many  varieties  were  lavishly 
bestowed  upon  their  wel- 
comed guests,  who  richly  en- 
joyed the  gifts  as  they  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way  from 
town  to   town. 


JANETTE  YOUNG  EASTON. 

Boru  Dei/ember,    1849. 


HARRY     BOWRING 
PHIL   MARGETTS. 


198 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


ORSON    HYDE. 


On  the  night  of  the  11th,  the  company  stopped  at  a  little 
place  called  Pinto,  and  the  next  day  reached  Pine  Valley,  a  way  up 
in  the  mountains,  some  six  thousand  feet  above  St.  George.  It 
was  a  perfect  little  paradise,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  groves 

of  pine  trees  and  meadows  of  rich 
bunch  grass.  A  more  beautiful  spot 
could  scarcely  be  imagined.  The 
company  greatly  enjoyed  the  change, 
and  would  have  remained  here  several 
days  had  time  permitted.  A  meeting 
was  held  in  the  afternoon,  and  a 
dance  given  at  night.  President 
Young,  however,  instructed  the  mem- 
bers of  his  par^y  to  retire  to  rest 
early,  as  the  hardest  day's  journey  of 
the  entire  trip  lay  before  them. 

The  next  morning  at  daylight  the 
company,  which  now  numbered  not 
less  than  one  hundred,  started  on  its 
down-hill  journey.  Many  loads  of 
hay,  grain  and  provision  were  brought 
along  by  the  thrifty  settlers,  to  help 
feed  the  multitude  that  was  already 
gathering  at  St.  George.  The  dis- 
tance was  about  forty  miles,  and  the 
road  in  some  places  was  well-nigh 
impassable.  When  they  came  to  the 
"Washboard,"  just  north  of  "Jacob's 
Twist,"  all  but  the  drivers  were 
compelled  to  walk,  the  road  being 
extremely  steep  and  rocky. 

As  they  neared  the  "land  of 
cotton,"  the  weather  became  quite 
tropical.  The  vo'canic  rock,  strewn 
over  the  country,  shone  like  black 
diamonds,  and  the  craters  from 
whence  they  had  come  appeared  like 


SARAH    ALEXANDER. 


AMASA    XI.     LYMAN. 


PRESIDENT  BRIGHAM  YOUNG'S  EXCURSION  PARTY 


1S9 


mountains  of  coal.  After  viewing  the 
crater  for  a  short  time  the  company 
drove  near  to  the  brink  of  a  deep  chasm, 
where  they  remained  about  thirty  min- 
utes. The  timid  excursionists  peered 
into  the  rugged  depths  until  their  heads 
reeled.  After  throwing  a  ton  or  two  of 
rock  into  the  pit,  the  company  drove  on. 
They  arrived  at  St.  George  just  in  time 
to  see  the  sun  hide  his  smiling  face 
behind  the  rocky  cliffs  of  Utah's  "Dixie." 

Apostles  Orson  Pratt,  Erastus  Snow, 
and  other  distinguished  citizens  of  St. 
George, were  on  the  spot  to  welcome  the 
president's  party  to  their  southern  home. 
Their  guests  were  soon  distributed  in 
carriage-load-lots  over  the  town,  where 
they-  were  made  more  than  welcome  for 
the  next  three  days  and  four  nights. 

The  Saints  of  St.  George  were  in 
comfortable  circumstances,  all  things 
considered,  and  a  more  hospitable  com- 
munity of  people  never  lived.  The  ma- 
jority of  them  had  comfortable  homes, 
and  seemed  to  be  happy  and  contented. 
Their  city  was  a  little  gem  set  in 
the  midst  of  a  sandy  desert,  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  the  rugged  mountain 
cliffs.  None  but  men  of  God,  endowed 
with  great  wisdom  and  faith  from  above, 
could  have  built  a  city  so  beautiful  in  so 
remarkably  short  a  time.  It  was  located 
in  1861,  in  which  year  large  companies 
of  people  were  called  from  the  northern 
counties  of  the  territory  to  settle  on  the 
Rio  Virgen  and  Santa  Clara.  The  city 
of  St.  George  stands  today  as  a  splen- 
did monument  to  their  honored  names. 


OK  SON  PRATT. 


MARY      WHITE. 

Born  November  7.  1840 


ERASTUS  SNOW. 


200 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


DIAMOND   VALLEY  CRATER,  TWELVE  MILES  NORTHWEST  OF 
ST.  GEORGE. 

Sunday,  September  14,  was  a  day  of  rest  in  very  deed.  After 
traveling  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles  over  a  dusty  road,  the 
president's  party  was  pretty  well  tired  out.  Even  the  jaded  ani- 
mals showed  their  appreciation  of  the  change,  as  they  lay 
stretched  out  beneath  the  shady  groves  of  the  Garden  City. 

At  10  a.  m.,  a  large  congregation  gathered  under  the  spacious 


JACOB'S   TWIST,    NEAR   ST   GEORGE. 


PRESIDENT  BRIGHAM  YOUNG' S  EXCURSION  PARTY.       201 

bowery,  which  had  just  been  erected  for  the  occasion.  On  the 
s*and  sat  the  great  "Mormon"  leader,  President  Brigham  Young, 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  following  intellectual  giants  and 
mighty  men  of  God:  Apostles  Orson  Hyde,  Orson  Pratt,  John  Tay- 
lor, Wilford  Woodruff,  George  A.  Smith,  Amasa  M.  Lyman,  Ezra 
T.  Benson,  Lorenzo  Snow  and  Franklin  D.  Richards. 

Six  meetings  were  held  during  a  two  days'  conference,  and  a 
sweet  and  peaceful  spirit  permeated  the  large  assemblage. 
Everyone  present  felt  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  as  they 
listened  in  earnest  silence  to  their  great  leaders,  whom  they  sin- 
cerely revered  and  regarded  with  love  and  admiration.  Tears 
trickled  down  the  cheeks  of  the  faithful  Saints,  many  of  whom, 
without  a  murmur,  had  turned  their  backs  on  comfortable  homes 
in  the  northern  counties,  and,  in  obedience  to  God's  servants, set- 
tled in  this  far-off,  desert  land.  The  almost  insurmountable  diffi- 
culties which  they  overcame,  the  trials  through  which  they  passed, 
and  the  sacrifices  which  they  made  for  the  cause  of  Zion,  will 
never  be  known  nor  understood  this  side  of  the  Millennium.  God 
bless  their  posterity  forever! 

(to  be  continued.) 


The  Voice  of  the  Shepherd. 

(For  the  Improvement  Era.) 


Lean  on  mine  ample  arm,  oh  thou  deprest! 
And  I  will  bid  the  storm  cease  in  thy  breast. 

Whate'er  thy  lot  may  be, 

On  life's  complaining  sea, 
If  thou  wilt  come  to  me,  thou  shalt  have  rest. 

Lift  up  thy  tearful  eyes,  sad  heart,  to  me; 
I  am  the  sacrifice  offered  for  thee. 

In  me  thy  pain  shall  cease, 

In  me  is  thy  release, 
In  me  thou  shalt  have  peace  eternally. 

Theodore  E.  Curtis. 


Just  a  Little  Blue  Stocking. 

BY   LELLA.    MARLER   HOGGAN. 


III.— Hughie's  Christmas  Tale.  (Continued.) 

"I  reached  to  open  the  door,  but  the  door  knob  was  muffled  in 
black.     I  was  too  late!" 

There  was  a  break  in  his  voice,  and  old  Hughie  stopped  speak- 
ing. No  one  spoke  a  word.  Some  of  the  men  shaded  their  eyes 
with  their  hands;  that  was  all.  After  awhile,  Hughie  quietly- 
continued: 

"Only  God  knows  what  happened  then,  boys.  There  ain't  no 
words,  you  know,  to  tell  things  like  that."  After  another  silence 
he  said:  "When  it  was  all  over,  we  went  back  to  the  old  place. 
It  didn't  seem  jest  like  home  to  me.  On  the  outside  things  looked 
tucked  up  and  sort  o'  crowded.  Nothin'  looked  fresh  and  open 
and  free,  like  it  does  out  here  in  the  Rockies.  Didn't  look  as  if 
things  had  breathin'  space.  The  things  inside  the  place  was 
changed  some,  but  I  guess  1  was  changed  more'n  anything  else. 
Father's  big  chair  was  in  its  old  place,  and  the  newspapers  and 
magazines  was  on  the  little  table  jest  as  they  used  to  be.  I 
noticed  my  last  letter  among  the  others.  It  looked  strange  and 
kind  of  out  o'  place.  Mother's  mending  bag  hung  near  the  sewin' 
machine,  where  I  remembered  seein'  it  years  before.  Some  of  the 
same  old  pictures  hung  on  the  wall.  And  a  gray  cat  purred  on  the 
hearth-rug,  jest  as  one  did  when  I  went  away.  Houses  stay  about 
the  same,  even  if  the  years  do  slip  along.  But  people — they're 
different.  When  their  hearts  change,  their  looks  change  to  match 
'em.  Mother  was  gray,  and  there  was  a  good  many  wrinkles  on 
her  face  I'd  never  seen  before.      I  wondered  how  many  of  'em  I'd 


JUST  A  LITTLE  BLUE  STOCKING.  203 

made.  Her  eyes  had  dimmed  some,  too,  as  if  she  might  a  shed  a 
good  many  tears.  I  set  in  the  dinin'  room  and  watched  her  about 
her  work.  She  worked  about  jest  as  she  did  when  I  was  a  boy. 
I  felt  sort  o'  dazed,  as  if  I  was  in  a  dream.  It  took  me  days  to 
git  used  to  all  the  changes  the  years  had  made.  My  brothers  and 
sisters  was  all  married,  except  little  Birdie  Lou.  She  had  not 
left  the  old  nest,  but  she  had  grown  to  be  a  woman.  I  felt  like 
an  old  man.  I  wondered  what  I  had  done  with  all  the  years  that 
stood  between  us.  I  felt  as  if  I  had  lived  my  life  alone, and  missed 
all  o'  the  sweet  things  God  had  meant  me  to  have. 

"1  missed  father  more'n  I  did  the  children.  His  big  Bible  lay 
on  the  centre-table,  and  his  cane  stood  in  the  corner.  I'd  git  to 
feelin1  smothered  like  in  the  house,  and  I'd  go  outside;  but  that 
was  even  worse.  There  was  the  very  hedge  I  had  helped  him  to 
plant,  and  the  apple  tree  we  had  pruned  and  watered  together.  I 
fancied  I  could  see  him  in  the  garden  bendin'  over  his  work.  Some 
days  my  heart  was  so  full  it  felt  like  it  was  sure  goin'  to  burst 
open.  Why,  boys,  I'd  gladly  a  give  ten  years  o'  my  life  if  I  could 
jest  a  took  him  by  the  hand  ag'in  and  told  him  I'd  come  home  to 
stay — that  I  wanted  to  be  by  him  to  take  care  of  him,  now  he  was 
gittin'  old.  But  God  never  let's  us  turn  the  pages  back,  boys; 
after  we've  lived  'em  once,  they're  gone.  The  folks  was  all  awful 
tender  towards  me.  They  tried  not  to  say  things  to  hurt  me. 
But  I  knew  they  felt  jest  like  I  did.  I  heard  my  aunt  a  tellin' 
mother  about  it  one  mornin'. 

'  'Ain't  it  a  pity,'  she  said,  'his  father  couldn't  a  seen  him? 
If  he  could  jest  a  looked  at  Hughie's  broad  shoulders  and  his  hon- 
est face  once,  he  could  a  died  happy.  You  know  how  he  fretted 
about  Hughie  at  the  last.'  " 

Hughie  paused  again  in  his  story.  In  a  few  moments  he 
said: 

"On  Christmas  eve  they  all  come  back  to  the  old  home  and 
spent  a  quiet  evenin',  jest  to  cheer  up  mother  and  me  a  little.  I 
felt  like  a  stranger  among  'em.  Mother  was  the  only  one  that 
seemed  jest  like  herself.  Birdie  Lou  had  several  little  ones  gath- 
ered about  her.  She  was  a  tellin'  'em  the  Christmas  story.  Fer 
a  minute  I  could  see  a  little  girl  in  a  red  dress,  with  her  fists  in 
her   pockets.      I  remembered  a  story  book  out  in  mv  cabin  in  the 


204  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Rockies,  and  I  remembered  a  little  package  in  my  great  coat 
pocket.  I  stepped  into  the  hall  and  put  my  hand  into  the  pocket. 
I  felt  the  little  gold  trinket  in  my  fingers,  but  I  drew  my  hand- 
kerchief out  instead.  No,  I  couldn't  give  it  to  her.  It  was  a 
child's  gift,  and  she  couldn't  use  it  now.  It  was  too  late;  my 
little  baby  sister  had  growed  into  a  woman.  I  felt  my  heart- 
strings drawin'  tighter  and  tighter.  There  wasn't  no  tears,  boys. 
Things  like  that  hurt  too  much  fer  tears.  It's  jest  a  dry  grief 
that  makes  your  heart  swell  up  'till  it  bursts.  I  knew  I'd  never 
see  my  baby  sister  again.  I  could  never  write  another  letter  to 
Santa  Claus  fer  her,  and  I  could  never  tell  her  another  baby  story. 
She  was  lost  to  me  as  much  as  if  she  had  died.  No,  I  couldn't 
give  her  the  gift.  I  couldn't  let  them  all  know  how  the  years  had 
been  a  slidin'  through  my  fingers  like  the  sands  o'  time,  while  I 
was  asleep,  as  it  was.  Then  the  other  things  come  back  to  me, 
too.  I  could  never  do  the  things  fer  father  I'd  been  plannin'  all 
the  years.  Mother  was  all  I  had  left,  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
right  then  and  there  to  stay  by  her.  I  was  glad  when  the  Christ- 
mas was  over,  fer  it  only  brought  me  pain.  It  wasn't  like  the 
Christmas  at  home  I'd  been  plannin'  all  them  years,  That  Christ- 
mas would  never  come.     It  was  jest  a  dream." 

After  a  little  silence,  Hughie  began  again. 

"The  next  spring  I  helped  mother  to  plant  a  flower-garden. 
She  hadn't  had  one  fer  years.  I  painted  the  fence  and  trimmed 
the  hedge,  and  in  the  summer  evenin's  we  used  to  carry  the 
flowers  we'd  grown,  and  lay  'em  on  father's  grave.  Sometimes, 
when  we  was  walkin'  home,  she'd  say,  'I  think  he  really  knows, 
Hughie,  what  is  goin'  on.  He'll  be  glad  you  come  back  to  look 
after  me  at  the  last.' 

"She  used  to  take  a  great  comfort  in  me.  Sometimes  she'd 
take  one  o'  my  hands  in  her  little,  thin,  white  ones  and  say,  'I'm 
so  glad  vou  come  back,  Hugh!     I'm  so  glad!' 

"I  tried  to  make  things  as  happy  fer  her  as  I  could;  'cause  I 
could  see  she  was  failin'  fast.  When  the  cold  winter  set  in,  she 
grew  weaker  and  thinner,  and  I  knowed  she'd  be  leavin'  soon,  too. 
I  used  to  take  her  out  drivin'  and  I'd  help  her  in  the  kitchen  with 
her  work.  She  insisted  on  doin'  some  things.  She  used  to  say  it 
was  the  old  days  comin'  back  ag'in,  when  they  was  jest  her  and 


JUST  A  LITTLE  BLUE  STOCKING.  205 

father.  I  tried  to  take  his  place,  so  she  wouldn't  miss  him  so. 
But  when  the  spring  pansies  begun  to  bloc  m  and  the  robins  come 
into  the  garden  to  sing  and  to  build  their  nests,  she  missed  him 
more  and  more;  and  she  finally  left  us  for  a  little  spell,  and  went 
to  him  to  live  the  old,  love-days  over  ag'in. 

"Birdie  Lou  had  gone  to  live  with  our  sister,  Ruth,  and  we 
locked  up  the  old  house.  I  spent  a  few  weeks  among  'em  all, 
but  I  couldn't  stay  long.  The  mountains  was  a  callin'  to  me.  I 
could  smell  the  sweet  grass  down  in  the  medder,  and  hear  the 
brook  a  laughin'  and  the  birds  a  singin'.  I  could  seethe  hoss-mint 
and  the  roses  a  growin'  together  in  the  shade  o'  the  pines  and 
quakin'-asp.  And  I  could  feel  the  cool  wind  on  my  cheeks  as  it 
blew  across  the  lake  from  old  Sawtell  peak.  Yes,  the  wild  things 
was  a  callin'  me,  and  I  had  to  come.  I  went  down  to  the  two 
green  mounds  in  the  churchyard,  and  I  told  Gcd  all  about  it. 
Then,  boys,  fer  the  first  time  I  felt  that  he  understood,  and  it  was 
all  right.  I'd  stayed  away  through  the  years  when  they  was 
needin'  me  at  home;  but,  after  all,  I  was  the  one  that  had  lost. 
I've  been  back  sense, and  I'll  go  again  Sunday,  but  this  is  my  home 
now.     They  need  me  here  more'n  the  home  folks  do." 

Hughie  was  silent.  The  boys  pushed  their  chairs  back  from 
the  fire  and  prepared  to  go. 

"Well,  boys,"  he  said,  "I'd  like  to  say  one  thing  more  'fore 
you  go.  Maybe  some  of  you  ain't  got  no  homes  to  go  to;  maybe 
some  of  you  ain't  got  no  one  to  miss  you;  if  you  ain't,  then  you 
ought  to  be  gettin'  a  home  of  your  own.  But  if  there  is  a  home, 
boys,  you  need  to  be  there  on  Christmas.  Don't  put  off  goin' 
back.  This  year's  as  good  as  any.  Next  year,  maybe  they  won't 
all  be  there.  Maybe  your  baby  sister  will  be  growed  up  already. 
They're  jest  babies  once,  and  they're  jest  children  once,  and  if 
you  miss  that  once  you  can  never  bring  it  back,  you  know.  It's 
lost  in  the  ages.  Now,  maybe  srme  of  you  have  sent  letters 
home,  and  maybe  you've  sent  money.  They'll  be  glad  to  git  it — 
to  know  you  think  of  'em.  But  money  don't  count  fer  much,  boys. 
It's  when  you  give  yourselves  that  you  give  joy.  That  kind  o' 
gifts  can't  be  bought  with  money;  and  Christmas  is  the  time  fer 
givin'  gifts,  you  know.  That's  the  reason  the  fust  Christmas 
gift'll  be  remembered  ferever.      God  give  his  Son  to  the  world, 


206  IMPRO  VEMENT  ERA . 

and  Jesus  give  hisself  to  the  children  of  men.     That  was  why  the 
angels  sung  glory  to  God,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  to  men." 

IV.— Jim's  Letter. 

The  boys  went  to  their  own  bunks,  one  bv  one.  When  Jim 
was  alone,  he  opened  his  letter.  His  fingers  touched  something 
soft  and  fluffy.  He  drew  it  out.  It  was  a  baby's  little  blue  stock- 
ing. There  was  a  mended  rent  in  the  leg,  and  a  hole  neatly  darned 
in  the  toe.  The  stocking  was  slightly  soiled.  It  had  not  been 
washed  since  it  was  drawn  from  a  chubby,  little  foot.  Jim  fancied 
he  could  see  the  little  pink  toes  and  the  white,  plump  knee. 
"Honey-Bird!''  he  whispered.  "Honey-Bird's  stocking!" 
He  pressed  it  in  his  hand.  Something  crumpled  in  Ihe  toe. 
He  drew  out  a  wisp  of  paper.  This,  then,  was  the  letter.  A 
baby's  fingers  had  been  guided  by  someone  across  the  page.  A 
comical  scrawl,  rather  hard  to  decipher,  was  the  result.  It  ran: 

Dear  Brother  Jim:  —  Come  home  soon.  We  need  you.  Santa 
Claus  is  coming  soon.  I  am  sending  you  one  of  my  little  blue  stockings. 
You  can  hang  it  over  the  fireplace.  Maybe  he  will  think  it  is  mine,  and 
will  bring  you  something  beautiful.  Be  good,  Jim.  We  all  love  you. 
I  send  you  four  kisses,  'cause  I'm  four  years  old.    From  your  little  sister, 

Honey-Bird. 

Jim  folded  up  the  baby-letter  and  placed  it  in  the  toe  of  the 
stocking.  He  was  thinking  of  Birdie  Lou.  And  in  his  heart  he 
knew  that  he  would  tell  the  Christmas  story  to  Honey-Bird 
this  time. 

He  held  the  little  stocking  in  his  hand,  as  he  watched  the 
embers  die  in  the  grate.  Just  across  from  him  he  could  see  a 
little  woman,  with  a  face  all  love  and  tenderness.  It  was  a  mental 
picture,  but  he  knew  the  face  was  Nellie's,  and  he  wondered  if  she 
had  seen  the  baby-scrawl  in  the  toe  of  the  little  blue  stocking. 

The  next  morning,  while  the  men  were  getting  ready  to  go 
into  breakfast,  Jim  stepped  into  the  cabin  with  the  announcement, 

"Well,  boys,  I'm  going  home  today." 

"How's  that,  Jim?"  asked  Nelson. 

They  all  thought  of  Hughie's  story,  but  it  had  touched  too 
deep  for  them  to  speak  of  it  lightly. 


JUST  A  LITTLE  BLUE  STOCKING.  207 

"My  sister  says  they  need  me,"  replied  Jim  quietly.  And 
drawing  the  little  stocking  from  the  envelope  he  held  it  up  to 
their  gaze. 

"Who  sent  it,  Jim?1'  asked  the  mail-driver,  as  usual  acting  as 
mouthpiece  for  the  crowd. 

"It's  from  my  baby  sister,  Honey-Bird." 

He  then  spread  the  baby-letter  out  before  them,  and  they, 
too,  enjoyed  the  awkward  scrawl.  There  was  something  very 
tender  in  their  hearts  that  morning.  Several  of  the  beys  were 
going  home  for  Christmas.  The  Yule-log  was  burning  in  grates 
beyond  the  valley.  Christmas  bells  were  calling  to  them  from  over 
the  purple  mountains.  Mayhap  baby  stockings  were  hanging  by 
their  own  mantels  waiting  to  be  filled. 

After  breakfast,  they  spoke  quietly  of  their  home-going  and 
their  work  in  the  valley.  Some  of  the  boys  had  no  homes  to  claim 
them,  and  they  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  accompany  those 
who  had. 

On  one  thing  they  all  agreed,  however — Hughie  must  be 
remembered.  But  what  could  it  be?  It  must  be  a  love  gift,  a 
token  from  heart  to  heart — something  that  would  bring  warmth 
and  sunshine  with  it,  and  make  the  Christmas  season  more 
sweet  to  him. 

V. — The  Christmas  Present,  and  the  Parting. 

"The  boys  tell  me  you're  goin',Jim;  they've  sent  fer  yon," 
said  Hughie  quietly,  as  he  walked  into  the  cabin  a  little  later. 

"Yes,  Hughie;  they  want  me  to  come  home  for  Christmas  and 
I  think  I  ought  to  go,"  Jim  answered,  as  he  kept  on  shaving. 

The  old  man  sat  down  and  waited.  Presently  Jim  passed  him 
the  little  square  envelope- 

"There's  the  letter,"  he  said. 

"Did  Nellie  write  it?"  asked  the  old  man  unconcernedly. 

"No,"  said  Jim,   "my  baby  sister  did." 

"Nellie  held  her  hand,  like  enough,"  mused  Hughie 
quietly. 

"Like  enough,"  repeated  Jim.  In  his  heart  he  was  praying 
that  the  old  man's  conjecture  might  be  true. 


208  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Hughie  opened  the  envelop  and  drew  out  the  little  blue  stock- 
ing. He  sat  very  quiet  for  several  minutes  looking  at  the  little 
stocking.     Then  he  said  simply, 

"And  the  letter,  Jim?" 

"Is  in  the  toe  of  the  stocking." 

"I  might  'a  known,"  he  said,  "the  things  we  wanted  the 
most  was  alius  last— alius  right  in  the  toe  of  the  stocking." 

He  opened  the  tiny  letter,  and  with  his  great  hand  smoothed 
it  across  his  knee.  He  read  it  slowly  twice.  Then  he  drew  out  his 
great  blue  handkerchief  and  wiped  his  eyes.  He  folded  the  letter 
again  and  placed  it  in  the  toe  of  the  stocking.  He  smoothed  the 
little  stocking  out  across  his  knee,  and  stroked  it  tenderly  as  if  it 
were  some  live,  gentle  thing.  Finally  he  put  it  in  the  envelope 
and  passed  it  back  to  Jim. 

"Give  my  love  to  Nellie,  Jim,  and  to  the  old  folks,"  he  said 
quietly.  "And  here,  Jim,  you  can  give  this  to  Honey-Bird.  I 
never  felt  I  could  give  it  away  before.    I'd  like  her  to  have  it." 

Jim  took  the  tiny  parcel  and  placed  it  carefully  on  the  table. 

"You've  had  it  a  long  time,  haven't  you,  Hughie?  See,  the 
wrapper  has  told  me;  it  is  yellow  with  age." 

"Yes,  Jim;  it's  the  trinket  I  bought  for  my  baby  sister 
before  I  went  home,  you  know.  But  she  wasn't  a  baby  when  I  got 
there.     I  was  too  late!" 

Taking  the  tiny  blue  stocking  from  the  envelope, Jim  removed 
the  little  letter  and  placed  Hughie's  gift  in  the  toe. 

"The  best  always  comes  last,"  he  said.  "I  shall  tell  her  that 
Uncle  Hughie  sent  it  to  her  by  Santa  Claus." 

Then  a  sudden  light  crossed  Jim's  face.  "You'll  go  home 
with  me,  Hughie.     You  shall  give  it  to  her  yourself. " 

"No,"  answered  Hughie  decidedly.  "Couldn't  do  it!  Why  it 
wouldn't  seem  like  Christmas  to  the  Bensen  children  and  the 
Joneses,  if  I  wasn't  there  to  tell  'em  the  Christmas  stories. 
Besides,  I've  promised  to  call  on  Widow  Sloan  and  her  little  boy, 
and  old  man  Brunt  will  be  lookin'  fer  me.  They'll  both  need  some 
wood  or  flour  or  suthin',  like  enough.  Anyway,  it's  too  cold  fer 
'em  to  keep  the  paths  open  these  days,  and  it  won't  take  me  no 
time  to  shovel  'em  out,  you  know.  No,  Jim,  I'll  stay  right  here 
and  go  about  my  regular  work.      But  I  have  a  long  ride  before  me 


JUST  A  LITTLE  BLUE  STOCKING.  209 

tcday,  and  I  won't  get  back  in  time  to  see  any  of  you  off.     So  I'll 
say  good-by  now." 

His  big  hand  clasped  Jim's  firmly.  "God  bless  you!"  was  all 
he  said.  Then  he  sprang  into  the  saddle  and  cantered  up  the 
trail. 

VI. — Jim's  Welcome  Home. 

In  Jim's  heart  was  a  song  of  joy.  The  years  had  been  folded 
together.  All  the  sad  things  were  blotted  out;  for  a  little 
blue  stocking  had  reached  across  the  lonely  waste  and  brought 
him  back  to  the  loved  ones  in  the  old  home.  Only  a  few  short 
days  now  until  he  would  see  them  face  to  face,  and  hear  their 
voices,  and  feel  their  warm  hand-clasp.  Hughie  would  not  be 
back  until  they  had  gone.  He  had  taken  a  long  ride  purposely, 
because  he  did  not  want  to  see  them  leave.  The  boys  had  several 
hours  in  which  to  devise  some  gift  for  him. 

It  was  a  happy  crowd  of  men  who  boarded  the  train  at  the 
station  that  night.  Some  of  them  would  reach  home  the  day  before 
Christmas,  and  some  of  them  would  not  meet  their  dear  ones  until 
Christmas  day.  As  they  dropped  off  one  by  one  at  the  various 
stations,  a  shower  of  good  wishes  followed  them.  When  Jim 
alighted  at  the  little  station  in  his  home  town  he  found  only  a  few 
stragglers  lounging  about.  It  was  only  a  short  walk  to  the  little 
brown  residence  on  the  corner.  As  he  looked  out  across  the 
town  lights,  it  seemed  to  him  only  a  few  days  since  he  was 
there  before.  Then  he  remembered  the  home  folks  again,  and  he 
wondered  if  all  was  well  with  them.  A  sudden  desire  came  upon 
him  to  see  them  face  to  face.  He  began  walking  very  rapidly. 
The  plank  walk  creaked  under  his  feet.  A  sort  of  wild  fear  filled 
his  heart.  What  if  some  of  them  were  ill  or  absent!  or — he  dared 
not  finish  the  thought.  But  there  was  the  little  brown  house 
now.  The  light  streamed  from  the  windows  across  the  lawn  to 
meet  him.  He  stepped  softly  onto  the  porch,  and  looked  in 
through  the  sash-door.  No  one  had  heard  him.  His  mother  was 
sitting  in  a  low  rocker  with  her  knitting  in  her  lap.  A  little  girl 
was  tumbling  with  a  kitten  on  a  rug  at  her  feet.  That  must  be 
Honey-Bird.     Another  woman  was  sitting  opposite  his  mother,  but 


210  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

her  back  was  turned.  He  fancied  her  hair  looked  like  Nellie's. 
His  father  sat  at  the  table  with  the  family  Bible  open  before  him. 
He  was  reading  in  a  clear,  distinct  voice.  Jim  could  hear  the 
words.  He  paused  at  the  door  and  listened.  He  had  heard  the 
same  words  many  times  before.     His  father  continued: 

''And  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a  multitude  of  the 
heavenly  host,  praising  God  ani  saying,  'Glory  to  God  in  the  high- 
est, and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men.'  ' 

From  the  door  Jim  could  see  a  little  blue  stocking  hanging 
by  the  mantel. 

His  father  closed  the  Bible,  his  mother  folded  up  her  knitting, 
and  the  little  girl  arose  and  pushed  back  her  tangled  curls.  Jim 
knew  it  was  time  for  evening  prayer.  He  rapped  gently  on  the 
door. 

"Well,  if  it  isn't  Jim!  Come  in,  boy,  come  in!  Welcome 
home,  welcome  home!"  exclaimed  his  father,  as  he  opened 
the  door. 

His  mother  was  almost  overcome.  When  she  could  speak  she 
said  falteringly, 

"Why,  Jim,  God  could  not  have  sent  us  a  Christmas  present 
that  would  have  brought  us  more  joy!  I'm  so  glad  you've 
come!" 

Little  Honey-Bird  cuddled  up  close  to  mamma.  She  felt  half 
afraid  of  the  big,  strange  man. 

"Haven't  you  a  kiss  for  Brother  Jim?"  asked  mamma. 

"Thatain't  my  brutha  Jim,"  she  declared.     "It's  a  big  man." 

"You  little  traitor!"  laughed  Jim.  "I  am  your  big  'brutha,' 
and  I'll  prove  it  shortly." 

He  had  no  time  for  proof  just  then,  for  there  stood  Nellie, 
just  as  sweet  and  beautiful  as  she  was  the  night  she  had  sent  him 
away.  She  was  smiling  across  the  years  at  him.  She  was  glad 
that  he  had  come  back.  For  one  moment  he  held  her  hand  in  his, 
and  all  the  world  was  new  again. 

"I've  come  back  to  stay,  Nellie,"  he  said. 

"I'm  so  glad!"  she  replied  honestly. 

Honey-Bird  was  already  tossing  her  curls  at  him,  as  if  chal- 
lenging him  to  a  flirtation.  Her  little  face  beamed  with 
anticipation. 


JUST  A  LITTLE  BLUE  STOCKING.  211 

"You  young  truant!"  laughed  Jim,  taking  her  into  his  arms 
by  main  force.  "So  you  disown  me,  do  you?  Who  was  it  sent 
me  a  little  blue  stacking,  I  wonder?"  questioned  he, taking  it  out  of 
his  pocket  and  holding  it  up  to  view.  "And  who  was  it  that 
wrote  me  a  little  letter  signed  Honey-Bird?" 

"That's  my  baby-stockin'  I  used  to  wear,"  she  said  defiantly, 
determined  not  to  be  outwitted.  "And  Nellie  held  my  hand  to 
write  the  letter,"  she  concluded  triumphantly. 

"Like  enough,"  said  Jim.  There  was  a  mist  in  his  eyes,  so 
he  did  not  see  Nellie's  blushes.  "But  come  on  now,  Honey-Bird, 
and  give  me  a  kiss,  if  you  want  to  hear  that  Christmas  story  I've 
been  saving  for  you." 

The  bribe  was  too  tempting  to  withstand,  so  she  submitted  to 
the  big  brother's  kisses  and  listened  to  his  pretty  story.  Soon 
little  eyelids  began  to  droop. 

"It's  time  for  my  little  girl  to  be  in  bed,"  said  mamma. 

"Oh,  we  must  hang  the  stockings  first,  mamma,"  smiled  Jim. 
"I've  come  two  hundred  miles  to  hang  this  little  blue  stocking 
alongside  of  the  other  one,"  he  remarked  seriously,  as  he  fastened 
it  to  the  mantel. 

That  was  a  long,  pleasant  evening.  Half  of  mother's  wrink- 
les were  hidden  in  smiles.  And  the  gray  veil  that  had  hung  about 
father's  face  was  rent  asunder.  His  countenance  beamed  with 
wholesome  joy.  Even  Nellie's  smile  was  sweeter,  and  Jim  was  a 
veritable  big  beam  of  happiness.  He  felt  as  if  the  music  of  the 
spheres  was  vibrating  for  him  and  his. 

"Why,  Jim,  the  trip's  done  you  a  world  of  good!"  said  his 
father.     "You  look  like  a  different  man!" 

"I  feel  like  a  different  man,  too,  father,"  he  replied.  "I  begin 
to  see  what  life  means  now." 

That  night  they  knelt  in  family  prayer  together.  To  Jim  it 
was  a  glad  omen  of  the  joy  that  was  awaiting  him  just  ahead. 
His  heart-strings  drew  tightly  together,  when  his  father  thanked 
God  for  his  return,  and  prayed  for  special  gifts  to  be  bestowed 
upon  dear  old  Hughie. 

After  the  prayer,  mother  said  they  would  let  Jim  and  Nellie 
fill  the  stockings  tonight,  just  for  old  time's  sake.     For  the  love- 


212  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

story  in  mother's  heart  had  not  grown  old,  and  she   knew  the 
sweetest  story  must  be  told  alone. 

VII.  —The  Reconciliation. 

When  they  were  alone  Jim  took  Nellie's  hands  in  his,  and 
looked  long  and  earnestly  into  her  eyes. 

"You  have  waited,  little  girl,  haven't  you?" 

"Yes,  James;  I  knew  you  would  come  back." 

"We  can  walk  the  path  together  now,  Nellie,  for  I  have 
found  God." 

"It  will  be  a  glad,  sweet  journey,  I  know,"  she  whispered. 

"It  will  be  heaven,"  he  replied  solemnly.  "For  we  shall  live 
and  love  and  work  together  always.  Perhaps  the  old  dream  will 
come  true,"  he  added. 

"Perhaps,"  she  whispered. 

A  sacred  joy  overspread  their  faces,  a  glad  thanksgiving 
filled  their  hearts. 

VIII. — Hughie's  Christmas  Gift. 

In  a  little  cabin,  up  in  the  heart  of  the  purple  mountains, 
knelt  an  old  man  wrapt  in  prayer.  Long  years  ago  he  had  sacri- 
ficed his  life  to  human  love  and  its  purposes.  The  sweet  incense  of 
his  generous,  brotherly  work  had  been  ascending  to  heaven  in  all 
the  years  that  had  followed;  but  not  until  tonight  did  he  know  that 
God  had  accepted  his  sacrificial  offering.  He  knew  tonight  that 
the  years  had  not  been  wasted,  for  he  had  been  doing  God's  work; 
his  life's  purpose  was  being  fulfiled. 

One  day,  during  the  Christmas  holidays,  the  mail-driver  came 
into  the  cabin,  carrying  a  large,  flat  crate  and  a  letter. 

"Here's  a  letter  for  you,  Hughie,"  hejsaid,  "and  here's  some- 
thing the  boys  sent  up." 

Hughie  came  over  slowly  and  examined  the  crate. 

"Why,  it's  a  picture,"  he  said.  "I  wonder  who'd  send  me 
such  a  big  one?" 

Nelson  helped  him  to  remove  the  slats,  and  then  lifted  the 
picture  onto  the  table. 

Hughie  stood  back  and  gazed  at  it  in  silence.     It  was  done  in 


JUST  A  LITTLE  BLUE  STOCKING.  213 

oils.  It  was  a  picture  of  Sawtell  Peak.  It  took  in  the  lake  and 
the  bit  of  landscape  where  the  dark  pines  and  the  old  cabin  stood. 
A  rift  of  sunshine  lay  across  the  old  summit  of  eternal  snow.  It 
glinted  the  purple  walls  beyond,  and  shed  a  glory  on  the  dark 
pines.  It  kissed  the  ripples  on  the  lake's  surface  and  lighted  up 
the  little  window  panes  of  the  old  cabin. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  Hughie  spoke.  His  eyes  were  full 
of  love-light.     Presently  a  glad  smile  lighted  up  his  face. 

"The  boys  sent  it,"  he  said.  "They  must  'a'  got  it  of  Bran- 
don. He  made  it  last  summer,  you  know.  Don't  you  know  how 
he  used  to  set  out  there  in  the  old  boat-house  and  work  by  the 
hour?     I  didn't  think  he'd  sell  it.     It  must  'a'  cost  a  heap." 

After  another  long  loving  look  he  continued: 

"I  guess  Brandon  knew  the  old  mountain  'bout  as  well  as  I 
do.  I  see  he's  caught  the  cove  and  the  gully  and  that  little  rip  to 
the  west  there,  where  we  had  the  snow-slide  six  years  ago.  It's 
like  it,  boys!     It's  mighty  like  it!" 

Then  his  eyes  caught  a  small  card  fastened  to  the  frame.  He 
read  the  inscription:  "For  our  dear  Hughie,  from  the  Boys.  Just 
because  we  love  him.  We  thank  God  that  Hughie  sent  us  home  in 
time."    His  voice  trembled  a  little  when  he  spoke  again. 

"I  guess  God  knows  where  we  b'long  better'n  we  do,"  he 
mused.  "And  he  puts  us  right  where  we  kin  do  the  thing  he  meant 
fer  us  to  do.  Now  Sawtell  Peak  there  wouldn't  be  o'  no  use  at 
all  in  York  State.  That's  why  God  put  it  out  here  amongst  the 
lakes  and  the  forests  and  the  wild  things.  He  knew  we  needed  it." 

His  hand  touched  the  big  frame  lovingly.  "I  didn't  think 
they'd  do  it!"  he  said  hoarsely.     Then  he  walked  out  of  the  cabin. 

He  did  not  remember  his  letter  until  later  in  the  day.  It  was 
from  Honey-Bird.  When  she  had  drawn  the  gold  trinket  from  the 
toe  of  her  stocking  on  Christmas  morning,  her  joy  was  unbounded. 
She  tore  off  the  yellow  wrapper  excitedly  and  slipped  a  little  gold 
bracelet  onto  her  plump,  white  arm. 

"Uncle  Hughie  sent  it  to  you  by  Santa  Claus,"  explained  Jim. 
"Uncle  Hughie  once  had  a  little  sister,  but  she  grew  into  a  big 
lady,  so  he  thought  maybe  you'd  like  to  be  his  little  sister  and 
wear  the  pretty  bracelet.     Would  you?' ' 

"Oh,  yes,  I'll  be  Hughie's  sister,  and  I'll  write  him  a  letter. 
Nellie  can  hold  my  hand." 


214 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


And  so,  after  several  trials,  the  chubby  fingers,  guided  by- 
Nellie's  hind,  finally  traced  the  following  scrawl  across  the  paper: 

Dear  Uncle  Hughie: — Santa  Claus  brought  me  the  pretty  bracelet 
and  I  like  it  awful  much;  thank  you.  I'll  be  your  little  sister.  I'll  pray 
for  you  most  every  night,  like  I  used  to  pray  for  my  big  brutha  Jim. 
Jim  come  home  for  Christmas.  We  hung  the  little  blue  stockings  up 
togetha.  Nellie  is  holding  my  hand  so  I  can  write  to  you.  Be  good.  We 
all  love  you.     Your  little  sister, 

Honey-Bird. 

Hughie  read  the  letter  over  several  times,  and  'chough  his 
eyes  were  moist,  they  twinkled.  A  peaceful  smile  spread  across 
the  kind  old  face. 

"I'm  goin'  to  see  my  little  sister  Honey-Bird,"  he  promised 
himself.  "I'm  goin'  to  see  her  'fore  she  grows  up."  Then  a 
happy  determination  sprang  up  in  his  heart. 

"God  willing,"  he  whispered  softly  to  himself,  "I'm  goin'  to 
help  Honey-Bird  hang  the  little  blue  stocking  over  the  fireplace 
next  Christmas." 

Lewisville.  Idaho. 

(the  end.  ) 


Photo  bv  Da\  id  B.  Anderson 

One  of  the  old  guns  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  Fort  McHenry,  Md., 
where  the  battle  was  fought  that  inspired  The  Star- Spangled  Banner. 


For  the  Development  of  Character. 

Helpful  Stories  and  Anecdotes. 


BY   EDWARD    H.    ANDERSON,     AUTHOR     OF        A     BRIEF     HISTORY    OF 
THE   CHURCH,"    "a    LIFE   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG,"    ETC. 


Beware  of  False  Guides. 

A  young  person  should  learn  early  in  life  discernment  — 
power  to  see  things  in  their  true  light — to  observe  objects  from 
a  true  viewpoint,  so  that  he  shall  not  be  deceived  by  false  appear- 
ances and  representations.  Most  dangerous  to  a  cause  is  a  half 
lie,  presented  in  such  a  way  that  it  appears  to  be  truth.  Boys 
should  learn  how  necessary  it  is  to  have  the  right  kind  of  compan- 
ions, wno  will  not  place  a  false  glitter  upon  facts,  nor  represent 
things  to  be  what  they  are  not.  A  day  of  awakening  will  come, 
when  the  boy  who  follows  false  guides  will  be  chagrined  and 
humiliated  for  his  ignorance,  and  cry,  "If  I  had  only  known!  If 
I  had  only  known!" 

John  H.  Squires,  of  Rexburg,  Idaho,  relates  an  amusing 
story,  which  he  very  appropriately  names,  "A  Missionary  Prank," 
illustrating  the  point  in  view.  Mr.  Squires  says  that  the  elder  in 
question,  on  his  arrival  at  Leipsic,  had  seen  so  much  in  so  short  a 
time  that  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  take  him  over  the  same  ground 
twice  and  have  it  appear  new.  Here  is  the  story: 
*  *  *  * 

In  the  spring  of  1894,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  laboring  as  a 
missionary  in  the  city  of  Leipsic,  which  is  a  quaint  old  German 
town,  and  the  largest  and  busiest  place  in  that  pare  of  Germany  — 
the  division  known  as  the  kingdom  of  Saxony. 


216  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Big  fairs  are  held  there  each  year,  and  with  the  university, 
the  conservatory  of  music,  and  the  art  gallery,  have  been  the 
means  of  making  thousands  of  strangers  acquainted  with  Leipsic 's 
many  features  of  interest. 

It  was  during  this  spring  that  my  companion  was  called  to 
labor  in  Palestine.     He  was  told  to  wait   in  Leipsic    for    Elder 

A ,  a  missionary  who  was  likewise  called  to  go  to  Palestine. 

Elder  A soon  came,  and  proved  to  be  an  enthusiastic  young 

missionary,  just  over  from  Utah.  His  only  experience  thus  far 
had  been  that  of  travel  and  sight-seeing.  At  home  he  had 
received  a  very  fair  education,  and  at  school  his  study  of  history 
and  geography  had  made  him  very  anxious  to  see  the  great  places 
and  things  of  interest  in  Europe. 

He  arrived  at  Leipsic  with  his  mind  filled  almost  to  the  limit 
with  the  strange  sights  and  incidents  of  a  long  journey  over  land 
and  sea.  In  each  large  city,  he  had  visited  the  cathedral,  the 
museums  and  art  galleries;  yet,  ever  anxious  to  see  more,  it 
became  my  duty  to  show  him  around  Leipsic,  while  my  own  com- 
panion prepared  for  his  trip  to  Palestine. 

I  took  him  first  to  the  great  market-hall,  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  world,  then  to  the  fine  new  library,  with  its  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  books.  He  was  delighted  with  the  beautiful  marble 
entrance  to  the  library  and  the  elegant  reading  room,  but  was 
bewildered  by  the  many  rooms  through  which  we  passed,  each 
crowded  to  the  limit  with  books. 

We  were  now  ready  for  the  art  gallery.  A  walk  of  a  few 
blocks  brought  us  to  a  large  square  in  the  center  of  which  is  the 
gallery.  On  the  inside  the  pictures  have  been  placed  in  a  series  of 
rooms  each  connected  with  the  other  in  such  a  way  that  you  may 
pass  from  the  first  room  into  the  next,  and  so  on  through  all  of 
the  others  and  back  again  to  the  first. 

Elder  A did  not   know   that  we  could  thus  move  from 

room  to  room,  and  at  last  return  to  our  starting  place. 

The  walls  of  the  different  rooms  are  crowded  with  the  master- 
pieces of  German  and   Italian  artists.     We   entered   one  of  the 

most  interesting  rooms  first.     Elder  A was  lost  in  admiration. 

To  begin  with,  he  examined  each  picture  carefully  to  learn  who 
was  the  artist.      He  soon  discovered  the  folly  of  even  trying  to 


FOR  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHARACTER.  217 

pronounce,  much  less  remember,  so  many  difficult  foreign  names. 

In  one  room  was  a  life-sized  portrait  of  Napoleon.  Elder  A 

admired  this  very  much,  and  expressed  surprise  that  the  Germans 
should  have  a  picture  of  Napoleon  on  exhibition.  I  explained  to 
him  that  one  of  the  greatest  of  Napoleon's  battles  was  fought  in 
1813,  near  Leip^ic,  and  that  I  would  take  him  out  with  me  to  the 
southeast  part  of  the  city  and  show  him  a  large  monument  indi- 
cating the  spot  where  Napoleon  stood  and  commanded  the  terrible 
conflict.     Napoleon  was  put  to  flight. 

I  told  Elder  A I  thought  the  Germans  were  glad  to  show 

the  portrait  of  the  famous  general  and  be  able  to  tell  that  he  had 
been  defeated  near  Leipsic. 

We  passed  on  around  through  the  different  rooms,  chatting 
and  admiring  the  paintings,  as  we  went,  and  had  returned  to  the 
portrait  of  Napoleon. 

"My  goodness!"  exclaimed   Elder  A ,  "there  is  another 

portrait  of  Napoleon!" 

Elder   A was  not  aware  that  we  were  on  our  second  trip 

around,  I  quickly  led  him  from  the  portrait,  explaining,  as  I  did 
so,  that  I  would  take  him  to  Peterstrasse,  the  narrow,  crooked 
street  through  which  Napoleon  and  his  generals  made  their  escape 
when  put  to  flight. 

I  was  curious  to  see  how  far  I  could  lead  Elder  A before 

he  discovered  that  he  was  looking  at  pictures  for  the  second  time. 
I  kept  up  his  interest  until  we  returned  again  to  Napoleon.  "Well, 
well,  another  picture  of  Napoleon!"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  viewed 
the  great  warrior  for  the  third  time. 

"Yes,"  I  answered  quietly.  "How  would  you  like  to  see  the 
monument  on  the  River  Pleise,  not  far  from  here,  where  Napo- 
leon and  his  fleeing  army  rushed  to  cross,  and  fcund  the  bridge 
destroyed.  Napoleon  commanded  the  soldiers  to  plunge  into  the 
deep,  sluggish,  stream,  and  cross.  So  many  who  first  started  lost 
their  lives  that  the  rest  were  able  to  cross  the  river  on  the  dead 
bodies  of  their  comrades." 

"What    a   dreadful    thing  is  war,  and   how  heartless    of 

Napoleon!"  said  Elder  A ,  as  he  was  led  by  me  for  the  third 

time  from  the  room. 

We  left  the  gallery.     He  had  not  discovered  that  he  had  seen 


218  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

all  of  the  pictures  twice,  and  some  of  them  three  times.  As  we 
walked  away  he  wondered  that  the  Leipsic  gallery  contained  such  a 
vast  number  of  fine  paintings,  so  many  more  than  he  had  seen  in 
the  art  gallery  in  London. 

I  told  him  I  had  not  yet  seen  the  London  gallery,  and  did  not 
know  how  it  compared  with  the  gallery  in  Leipsic,  but  I  ventured 
the  assertion  to  him  that  London  could  not  produce  so  many  fine 
portraits  of  Napoleon. 

I  never  told  him  how  I  had  led  him  around.  He  had  such  con- 
fidence in  me  that  I  hated  to  let  him  know  how  I  had  played  upon 
his  confidence. 

*  *  *  * 

Young  man, have  you  a  companion  showing  you  how  much  greater 
and  better  and  grander  your  opportunities  for  advancement,  work 
and  progress  will  be  if  you  leave  your  good  home  and  people  to  go 
there  or  yonder?— beware  lest  he  is  leading  you  around  the 
gallery ! 

Have  you  a  chum  who  tells  you  that  the  men  of  the  world 
are  so  much  freer  than  you  are,  and  that  your  religion  tends 
to  make  you  narrow  and  one-sided,  and  then  invites  you  to  come 
out  into  the  open  and  see  the  big  world? — take  heed  that  he  does 
not  lead  you  around  the  gallery! 

Have  you  a  so-called  friend  who  tells  you  of  the  pleasure  and 
freedom  and  manliness  you  may  gain  in  the  club  room,  at  the 
gaming-table,  in  the  saloon,  in  the  pool-room,  with  up-to-date 
companions,  as  compared  to  the  hum-drum  of  home  and  school, 
and  the  Church  ward  organizations? — set  it  down,  he  is  leading  you 
around  the  gallery!  Every  time,  too,  that  you  express  surprise  at 
a  new  Napoleon,  he  laughs  in  his  sleeve  at  your  ignorance  and 
credulity. 

Be  a  Man. 

One-sided  development  is  fatal  to  a  well-rounded  character. 
What  we  know  is  of  great  consequence,  for  ignorance  is  a  fearful 
handicap  to  any  man;  but  how  we  feel  and  act,  what  we  do  in 
applying  our  knowledge,  and  what  we  really  are,  count  most  in 
character. 


FOB  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHARACTER.  219 

In  a  recent  number  of  the  Utah  Educational  Review,  an  edi- 
torial writer  relates  that  some  years  ago  he  was  lecturing  in  one 
of  the  remote  counties  in  Utah.  One  hot  summer  evening  he  sat 
on  the  front  step  of  a  ranch  house  with  the  rancher,  both  in  their 
shirt  sleeves,  after  a  long,  hot  day  in  the  hay-field. 

"Professor,"  said  the  rancher,  "this  morning  when  you 
offered  to  help  me  I  thought  it  was  only  a  joke.  About  ten  o'clock 
I  was  willing  to  admit  that  you  handled  a  fork  pretty  well  for  a 
professor.  By  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  I  knew  that  you  were 
a  man  as  well  as  a  professor. 

"Now,"  he  continued,  "I  have  three  brothers  who  have  been 
to  college.  One  is  principal  of  our  school,  at  forty  dollars  a 
month;  one  is  a  clerk  in  the  town  store  at  about  the  same  pay;  and 
the  other  is  the  sissy-boy  you  see  out  there  at  the  gate,  flirting 
with  the  girls.  He's  been  around  here  most  of  the  summer,  grumb- 
ling at  the  grub.  I've  had  some  notion  to  pay  his  way  for 
another  year  in  college,  just  to  get  him  off  the  place.  Is  it  any 
wonder  I  have  no  faith  in  college  education?" 


The  Inland  Sea. 

(For  the  Improvement  Era.) 


The  Salton  sea,  inland  beside 

Gray  sands  and  shaggy  crags  snow-capped, 
Serenely  rolls  her  heavy  tide 

By  deserts  wide  and  rocks  enwrapped. 
From  eastward  yawning  canyons  deep, 

Pure  streams  o'er-flood  the  blue  expanse; 
Soft  west  winds  parched  her  moisture  reaps, 

Stale,  brackish  lake,  the  salts  entrance. 
Thou  sapphire  gem  of  mountains  high. 

Mere  vestige  now  of  wider  sea,  * 
Reflect,  beneath  clear,  azure  sky, 

The  western  peaks  so  dear  to  me! 

Rufus  Leigh. 

Ann  Akbor,  Michigan. 


The  Creation  of  the  Earth. 


BY  FREDERICK   J.    PACK,    A.   M.,    PH.    D.,    DESERET    PROFESSOR    OF 
GEOLOGY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  UTAH. 

III. 

The  Geological  Record. 

But  little  attempt  will  be  made  to  explain  the  methods  of 
interpretation  used  by  the  geologist  in  ascertaining  the  ages  of 
the  various  rock  formations.  Two  principles  chiefly  are  used — 
superposition  (the  state  of  being  laid  one  upon  another)  and  fossil 
content.  The  geologist  recognizes  that  the  rocks  comprising  the 
outer  part  of  the  earth  had  their  origin  through  the  same  agen- 
cies and  in  much  the  same  way  as  similar  deposits  are  now  being 
formed,  i.  e.,  by  the  deposition  of  sediments  largely  in  lakes  and 
oceans.  It  is,  of  course,  apparent  that  each  layer  thus  formed  is 
younger  than  the  layer  upon  which  it  rests.  To  the  geologist  this 
principle  reveals  the  truth  that  the  older  rocks  occur  at  the 
base  of  the  great  stratigraphic  column,  while  the  successively 
younger  ones  are  higher  up. 

Our  present  beaches  are  strewn  with  the  remains  of  a  diver- 
sity of  creatures,  similar  forms  of  which  are  living  nearby.  Many 
of  the  land  forms,  as  well  as  the  aquatic,  are  preserved  by  being 
buried  in  the  accumulating  sediments.  These  types  represent  a 
part  of  the  life  of  this  particular  age,  and  would  at  some  future 
time  furnish  a  key  as  to  the  nature  of  the  flora  and  fauna  existing 
at  the  time  that  the  sediments  were  laid  down.  And  so  it  is  with 
the  great  geologic  column — the  various  types  now  found  in  fossil 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  EARTH.  221 

condition  reveal  the  nature  of  the  life  which  characterized  the  times 
during  which  the  various  rock  masses  were  deposited.  Hence,  by 
beginning  at  the  base  of  the  geological  column,  one  may  read  the 
chronologic  history  of  the  faunal  and  floral  life  simply  by  noting 
the  nature  of  the  fossil  content  of  each  succeeding  series  of  rocks. 
The  careful  examination  of  literally  thousands  of  geologic  sections 
at  greatly  diversified  points, reveals,  without  a  single  exception,  one 
and  the  same  chronology.  Further,  each  of  the  greater  (and  often 
minor)  subdivisions  of  this  column  is  characterized  by  a  flora  and 
fauna  unlike  those  of  other  subdivisions.  This  fact  enables  the 
geologist  to  identify  the  horizon  or  age,  even  though  lower  (older) 
or  higher  (younger)  rocks  are  not  exposed  at  the  place  of 
observation. 

Primarily,  by  the  application  of  these  principles-  of  super- 
position and  fossil  content,  the  geologist  has  worked  out,  in  con- 
siderable detail,  the  history  of  the  various  life  forms  which  have 
inhabited  the  earth.  But,  just  as  in  profane  history,  the  record 
becomes  more  aid  more  illegible  as  one  reaches  back  into  the  dis- 
tant past.  In  geology  this  is  the  case  principally  for  two  reasons: 
firstly,  the  animal  and  plant  forms  were  not  so  abundant,  were  less 
diversified  in  form,  and  possessed  fewer  parts  capable  of  being 
preserved;  and,  secondly,  the  forms  that  were  originally  in  a  good 
state  of  preservation  have  subsequently  been  more  or  less 
destroyed  by  the  processes  of  time. 

The  geologist  carries  the  history  just  as  far  back  as  authentic 
records  will  permit  him  to  go.  Through  a  somewhat  close  rela- 
tionship of  forms,  he  is  enabled  to  classify  (somewhat  arbitrarily  at 
times)  the  earth's  history  into  various  divisions  and  subdivisions,  each 
of  which,  of  course,  is  characterized  by  a  fauna  and  flora  of  its  own. 
In  the  following  table  the  division  of  time  is  that  adopted  by  the  In- 
ternational Geological  Congress.  The  right-hand  column  is  appended 
to  show  the  characteristic  life  of  each  of  the  major  subdivisions: 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


Psychozoic 

Quaternary 

Age  of  Man 

Cenozoic 

Tertiary 

True  mammals  appear  and 
become  dominant 

Cretaceous 

Reptiles  dominant,  birds 
abundant 

Mesozoic 

Jurassic 

Reptiles  dominant,  birds 
appear 

Triassic 

Cycads  culminate 

Permian 

Amphibians  dominant 

• 

Carboniferous 

Acrogens  dominant 

Paleozoic 

Devonian 

Fishes  dominant 

Silurian 

Invertebrates  still  dominant 

Ordovician 

Fishes  first  appear 

Cambrian 

All  classes  of  invertebrates 

Pre-Cambrian 

Algonkian 

Evidences  of  both  animal 
and  plant  life 

Archaean 

No  direct  evidences  of  life 

The  Archaean  system  does  not  form  a  part  of  the  orginal 
earth-stuff,  but  may  have  been  derived  directly  from  it.  The  rocks 
of  this  system  contain  no  direct  evidences  of  life  through  the  pres- 
ence of  fossils,  yet,  from  information  derived  from  other  sources, 
it  is  confidently  inferred  that  organisms  in  great  numbers  already 
existed. 

In  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  river,  and  in  the  Belt 
mountains  of  Montana,  the  Algonkian  system  furnished  abundant 
evidence  of  life,  but  the  fossils  are  fragmentary  and  difficult  of 
exact  identification.  They  belong,  however,  to  the  lower  forms  of 
life,  largely  referable  to  the  Crustacea,  Brachiopoda,  etc. 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  EARTH.  223 

The  Cambrian  period  is  represented  in  fossil  form  by  an 
abundance  of  animals  and  some  plants.  The  fossils  show  that  the  life 
was  not  only  widely  diversified  in  form,  but  well  developed  in  struc- 
ture. Practically  all  of  the  later  invertebrates  were  represented 
by  ancestral  types  in  the  life  of  this  age.  The  geologist  does  not 
look  upon  the  Cambrian  life  as  strictly  primitive ;  he  sees  back  of 
and  beyond  it  enormous  periods  of  time  in  which  this  life  had  its 
origin.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  only  the  more  simple 
types  of  animals  and  plants,  as  we  know  them  today,  had  made 
their  appearance  by  Cambrian  times. 

The  Ordovician  flora  and  fauna  were  slightly  advanced  over 
those  of  the  preceding  period.  The  most  interesting  feature  of 
this  age,  however,  was  the  appearance  of  a  primitive  backboned 
creature.  At  Canyon  City,  Colorado,  and  elsewhere,  the  remains 
of  primitive  fish  occur  in  strata  of  the  Ordovician  age.  These  early 
vertebrate  forms,  however,  were  by  no  means  abundant,  and  were 
not  well  specialized  as  were  those  of  later  periods. 

During  Silurian  times  the  invertebrate  forms  were  still  domi- 
nant. The  flora  and  fauna  had  become  slightly  more  specialized 
and  complex  than  those  of  the  preceding  period. 

The  Devonian  was  so  abundantly  represented  by  aquatic  verte- 
brates, that  it  has  been  called  the  "Age  of  Fishes."  All  of 
the  higher  Cryptogams  (flowerless  plants)  were  represented  both 
by  large,  tree- like  forms  and  smaller  plants.  Some  of  the  lower 
forms  of  the  Gymnosperms  (flowering  plants)  were  also  present. 
The  amphibians,  the  lowest  of  air-breathing  vertebrates,  were  also 
representtd  in  the  Devonian. 

Some  of  the  plants  became  extinct  during  the  Carboniferous, 
while  others  became  more  abundant  and  diversified.  The  topo- 
graphic features  were  such  as  to  offer  excellent  facilities  for  the 
preservation  of  plant  life.  It  is  within  this  system  that  practically 
all  of  the  coal  of  the  eastern  United  States  occurs.  The  fauna 
was  also  materially  changed  over  that  of  the  Devonian. 

During  Permian  times  the  Amphibians  greatly  increased  in  num- 
bers and  in  complexity.  The  reptiles  were  also  present  in  great 
numbers. 

The  Triassic  flora  was  greatly  in  advance  of  that  in  the  Car- 
boniferous or  Permian.      The  Amphibians  reached  their  culminat- 


224  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

ing  importance,  and  the  reptiles  appeared  in  great  numbers  of 
diversified  form. 

The  reptiles  of  the  Jurassic  period  were  of  a  higher  and  more 
diversified  form  than  those  in  the  Triassic.  The  most  remarkable 
feature  of  this  period  was  the  appearance  of  birds,  the  oldest 
type  known  to  science  having  been  found  in  the  lithographic 
limestones  of  Bavaria. 

It  may  fairly  be  questioned  whether  the  Cretaceous  reptiles 
were  more  abundant  than  those  of  the  Jurassic.  Large  numbers 
had  disappeared  and  others  had  taken  their  places.  The  reptiles 
became  the  dominant  forms  of  land,  sea,  and  air.  Many  of  the 
genera  were  the  largest  land  animals  that  ever  existed.  The  birds 
were  more  abundant  and  more  diversified  than  those  of  the  Juras- 
sic. Nearly  all  of  the  coal  of  the  Rocky  mountain  region  o:curs 
in  the  rocks  of  this  system. 

The  opening  of  the  Tertiary  was  heralded  by  the  appearance 
of  large  numbers  of  true  mammals.  They  soon  became  greatly 
diversified  in  form,  size,  and  habits  of  living.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  all  of  the  more  common  animals,  including  the  horse, 
cow,  deer,  bear,  elephant,  dog,  cat,  etc.,  appeared.  The  close  of  the 
Tertiary  differed  but  little  with  the  present  time,  except  in  the 
absence  of  man.  The  exact  time  at  which  he  appeared  is  still  an 
open  question.  Some  geologists  hold  the  opinion  that  he  may  have 
come  in  near  the  close  of  the  Tertiary,  while  others  emphatically 
assert  that  he  did  not  appear  until  well  within  the  early  Pleisto- 
cene (lower  Quaternary).  All  agree  that  he  is  practically  the  last 
of  the  great  series  to  be  created. 

IV. 
Summary  and  Conclusion. 

In  the  first  article  of  this  series  it  was  stated  that  the  Bibli- 
cal chronology  of  creation,  as  outlined  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Book  of  Genesis,  has  been  vindicated  in  almost  every  detail  by 
modern  scientific  discovery.  The  second  and  third  articles  deal 
with  the  principal  hypothesis  of  earth  origin  and  the  geological 
record  respectively.  Attention  will  now  be  directed  to  the  similar- 
ity of  the  facts  derived  from  these  three  independent  sources. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  writer  has  attempted  no  explanation 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  EARTH.  225 

of  the  length  of  time  involved  in  the  creation  of  the  earth.  Noth- 
ing has  been  said  of  the  term  "day,"  as  found  in  the  Biblical 
account.  Nothing  concerning  methods  of  creation  has  been 
attempted.  These  things  have  purposely  been  avoided,  not 
because  they  present  any  difficulties,  but  because  we  are  deal- 
ing solely  with  the  matter  of  chronology.  For  the  present  argu- 
ment, even  the  identity  of  the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Genesis 
matters  not.  The  outcome  would  be  the  same,  whether  the  chron- 
ology were  written  by  Moses,  or  by  some  of  the  ancient  Chaldeans 
or  Babylonians.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  the  two  chronologies 
agree,  then  the  argument  for  the  divine  authenticity  of  the  Biblical 
account  will  be  established. 

According  to  the  Biblical  account,  the  first  command  of  the 
Great  Creator  was  "Let  there  be  light;"  and  yet  it  will  be 
remembered  that  according  to  the  same  narrative  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars  were  not  created  until  the  fourth  day.  This  apparant 
inconsistency  in  the  appearance  of  light,  independent  of  the  celes- 
tial luminaries,  is  converted  into  a  profound  truth  through  the 
researches  of  modern  science.  Physicists  and  astronomers  alike 
agree  that  the  accretion  of  nebulous  or  planetesimal  material  in 
the  creation  of  the  earth  would  inevitably  generate  large  quantities 
of  light.  In  discussing  some  of  the  earlier  stages  in  the  history 
of  the  earth,  but  with  no  reference  whatever  to  the  Biblical 
chronology,  Professor  Chamberlain,  of  the  University  of  Chicago, 
states,  "There  was,  however,  a  terrestrial  source  of  heat  and  light* 
of  critical  importance,  namely,  that  arising  from  the  infall  ofplane- 
tesimals."  Further,  "The  planetesimals  between  the  earth  and 
the  sun,  during  the  early  stages  before  they  were  much  swept  up 
by  the  inner  planets,  may  have  screened  off  some  appreciable  part 
of  the  sun's  heat  and  light;  but  the  ratio  of  nebular  matter  to 
space  was  probably  too  small  to  render  this  loss  critical.  So  long 
as  the  nebula  itself  remained  luminous  the  nebular  light  compen- 
sated, in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  for  the  solar  light  cut  off,  but 
perhaps  not  for  the  heat."  (See  Chamberlain  and  Salisbury's 
Geology,  1906,  Vol.  II,  pp.  113,  114,).  This  complete  agreement 
of  Biblical  statement  and  fact  of  recent  scientific  acceptance  is 


*  The  Italics  in  the  article  are  mine. 


226  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

most  remarkable,  especially  when  it  is  called  to  mind  that  the 
writer  of  the  Biblical  chronology  could  not  have  known  of  the 
existence  of  light  independant  of  the  celestial  luminaries,  this 
being  a  doctrine  only  of  the  most  recent  times.  And  in  addition 
to  this,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  event  is  placed  in  its 
correct  position  in  the  chronology.   ../ 

Through  a  commandment  of  Deity,  the  firmament,  or  expanse, 
appeared  on  the  second  day.  The  exact  meaning  of  this  state- 
ment is  not  perfectly  clear,  but  it  very  likely  has  its  counterpart 
in  the  scientific  chronology  in  the  events  which  cleared  the  space 
surrounding  the  earth  by  the  infalling  of  accretion  or  nebulous 
material.  Before  this  time  the  earth  had  not  been  an  independent 
sphere,  but  the  materials  comprising  it  had  been  scattered 
throughout  the  solar  space,  and  thus  the  firmament  did  not  appear 
until  the  major  part  of  this  planetary  material  was  withdrawn 
from  it. 

One  of  the  first  events  readily  proved  from  the  geological 
record  is  the  segregation  of  the  land  and  water,  thus  forming  the 
continental  areas  and  the  ocean  basins.  (It  should  be  noted  that  the 
scientific  evidence  thus  far  presented  comes  from  the  cosmogonist, 
and  not  from  the  geologist).  In  speaking  of  the  early  differen- 
tiation of  land  and  water,  Professor  Chamberlain  says:  "It  is  not 
necessary  to  suppose  that  there  was,  at  the  outset,  a  general  or 
continuous  covering  of  certain  large  areas  by  water,  and  a  general 
continuance  of  land  in  other  areas,  but  merely  that  over  certain 
portions  of  the  globe  water  areas  were  more  abundant  than  over 
other  areas.  Where  water  predominated,  it  may  at  first  have 
taken  the  form  of  numerous  small  bodies The  tend- 
ency would  always  be  toward  the  more  complete  unification  of  the 
land  areas  and  water  areas,  respectively.  So  long  as  the  earth 
continued  to  grow  appreciably  by  accession,  the  water  areas  should 
continue  to  grow  larger  and  deeper,  and  the  land  areas  narrower 
and  higher After  growth  cea  el,  and  modern  pro- 
cesses became  dominant,  a  more  nearly  balanced  relation  of  sea 
and  land  is  thought  to  have  ensued,  with  a  close  approximation  to 
constancy"  (pp.  109,  110).  It  is  a  well  accepted  fact  in  geology 
that  the  continents,  with  practically  their  present  outlines,  came 
into  existence  sometime  near  the  close  of  the  pre-Cambrian. 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  EARTH.  227 

According  to  the  Biblical  account,  the  work  of  the  third 
"day"  culminated  in  the  appearance  of  plants  of  various  kinds, 
but  it  asserts  that  the  lower  forms  of  animals  appeared  on  the 
fifth  "day."  Geologic  history  records  the  appearance  of  plants 
and  animals  contemporaneously.  Both  the  geologist  and  the  biol- 
ogist, however,  see  very  good  reasons  for  believing  that  plants  were 
created  long  before  animals.  The  earliest  forms  of  plants  with 
which  we  are  acquainted  were  very  fragile,  and  much  less  suscept- 
ible to  preservation  than  were  the  animal  forms  possessing  harder 
chitinous,or  calcareous  parts.  From  this  viewpoint  alone  it  appears 
probable  that  plants  may  have  existed  long  before  animals,  but 
because  of  their  delicacy  were  not  preserved.  The  biologist  calls 
attention  to  the  absolute  necessity  for  the  appearance  of  plants 
before  animals,  the  latter  being  incapable  of  deriving  a  livelihood 
directly  from  mineral  matter  alone.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
plant  life  is  capable  of  obtaining  its  food  directly  from  mineral 
matter,  while  animal  life  cannot  do  this,  but  must  receive  at  least 
a  part  of  its  food  from  material  previously  worked  over  by  plants. 
For  this  reason  biologists  and  paleontologists  agree  that  plant  life 
must  have  been  the  first  to  appear. 

Astronomers  and  cosmogonists  agree  that  the  earth  must 
have  been  well  along  in  its  history  before  the  full  light  from  the 
sun  reached  the  earth  unimpeded.  Chamberlain,  in  speaking  of 
the  declining  supply  of  planetsimals,  says,  "This  diminution  of 
the  supply  cleared  the  space  between  the  earth  and  the  sun,  and 
gradually  brought  the  latter  into  jull  function.  There  would,  there- 
fore, be  a  gradual  passage  from  the  partial  dependence  on  the 
home  supply  of  heat  and  light,  to  a  complete  dependence  on  the 
solar  supply.  There  is  little  ground  for  apprehension  that  the 
inf ailing  planetesimals  would  be  seriously  dangerous  to  the  early 
forms  of  life,  for,  in  the  first  place,  the  atmosphere  must  havs 
been  then,  as  now,  an  effective  cushion,  checking  the  speed  of  the 
planetesimals,  and  partly  dissipating  them;  and,  in  the  second 
place,  the  early  organisms  were  probably  all  acquatic,  and  were 
further  protected  by  their  water-covering"  (pp.  114,  115.) 

The  exact  time  at  which  the  unscreened  light  fr  m  the  sun 
reached  the  earth  is  not  definitely  known.  The  concensus  of  opinion, 
however,  places  it  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  introduction  of 


228  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

life.  Chamberlin,  as  will  be  noted  in  the  last  preceding  quota- 
tion, has  this  event  follow  the  appearance  of  primitive  life.  The 
Biblical  chronology  places  it  on  the  fourth  "day,"  and  just 
following  the  creation  of  the  plants,  but  preceding  the  animals. 
It  should  be  noted  that  the  scientists'  inability  to  definitely 
place  this  event  does  not  arise  through  any  disagreement  with 
the  Biblical  chronology,  but  is  the  result  of  paucity  of  historic 
facts  dealing  with  this  particular  feature.  So  far  as  scientific 
research  has  been  able  to  go  in  this  direction  it  has  agreed  in 
almost  every  detail  with  the  sacred  chronology. 

The  fifth  creative  period,  according  to  the  Biblical  account, 
witnessed  the  appearance  of  two  great  types  of  animal  life — the 
creatures  that  swarm  in  the  waters,  and  the  fowls  that  "fly  above 
the  earth  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven."  Geology  has  no 
difficulty  in  definitely  outlining  the  sequence  of  events  from  this 
point  on.  The  Cambrian  period  (and  possibly  the  Algonkian 
of  the  pre-Cambrian)  was  characterized  by  an  abundance  of  aquatic 
invertebrates.  In  later  periods,  fishes  in  great  numbers  became 
dominant,  but  these  soon  gave  place  to  the  amphibians  and  rep- 
tiles. The  Jurassic  period  marked  the  appearance  of  birds,  which 
in  the  Cretaceous  became  abundant  and  highly  diversified.  The 
similarity,  if  not  to  say  the  complete  identity,  of  the  Biblical 
and  scientific  chronologies  relating  to  the  matter  must  be  apparent 
without  further  comment. 

According  to  the  Biblical  account  the  sixth  "day"  was  char- 
acterized by  the  appearance  of  land-living  creatures,  culminating 
with  man.  Geological  history  clearly  records  the  fact  that  mam- 
mals became  dominant  within  the  early  Tertiary, and  that  man  made 
his  appearance  near  the  beginning  of  the  succeeding  period,  the 
Pleistocene. 

One  rather  important  item  of  difference  in  the  two  chronolo- 
gies seems  to  lie  in  the  matter  pertaining  to  the  appearance  of 
fruit-bearing  trees.  The  geological  record  states  that  they  did 
not  have  their  origin  until  long  after  the  Biblical  account  places 
them.  It  should  be  not  d,  however,  that  plants  as  a  whole  are 
placed  in  their  prober  position  in  the  chronological  record,  and 
this  item,  therefore,  perhaps  may  be  considered  as  of  secondary 
importance. 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  EARTH.  229 

The  following  outlined   comparisons  of  the  two  chronologies 

apparent  ^   ^^   if    n0t   to  S^   **~^ 

BIBLICAL  CHRONOLOGY  CHRONOLOGY  DEDUCED    BY   SCIENCE 

' ^l!  tKn0 '  Hght  independ"      «  be^  m  an  immediate 

The  appearance   of  the   firmament      The  ,earth  made    an    independent 
or  expanse.  sphere  through  the  accretion  of 

the  nebulous  material. 
Segregation  of  the  land  and  water.      Outlining  of  the  continental  masses 

and  ocean  basins. 

Tu„  nraa+:nn  „,  ,   ,.  The  appearance  of  vegetation  soon 

The  creation  of  vegetation.  followed  by  the  lowest  forms  of 

animal  life. 

Creation  of  the  sun, moon  and  stars       The  unscreened  light  of  the  sun 

reaches  the  earth. 

Creation  of  water-living  creatures       Aquatic  invertebrates  abundant  in 

the  Cambrian,  followed  by  fishes. 
n      ,.        -  .     ,  First   appearance  of   birds  in  the 

breation  of  fowls.  Jurassic,  becoming  abundant  in 

the  Cretaceous. 

Creation  of  land-living  creatures  Appearance   of    mammals   in    the 

Tertiary. 
Creation  of  man.  Appearance  of  man. 

It,  of  course,  cannot  be  argued  that  the  two  chronologies 
agree  in  every  detail.  One  was  written  more  than  three  thousand 
years  ago, under  circumstances  entirely  foreign  to  modern  advance- 
ment, and  had  for  its  purpose  the  religious  guidance  of  individ- 
uals untutored  in  even  the  crudest  elements  of  science.  Of  nec- 
essity, it  was  couched  in  language  which  could  be  understood  by 
its  readers,  and  was  not  intended  as  a  scientific  presentation  of 
the  facts  of  creation.  But  well  within  the  foreground  of  the 
Biblical  account  the  chronology  stands  out  in  its  true  position. 

It  has  previously  been  shown,  in  article  I  of  this  series,  that 
the  writer  of  the  account  could  not  have  received  his  information 
from  the  learning  of  his  day;  that  he  could  not  have  arrived  at 
the  matter  through  a  process  of  reasoning,  and  that  the  chro- 
nology could  not  have  been  the  result  of  chance.  It  has  now  been 
shown  that  the  Biblical  account  has  been  vindicated  in  almost 
every  detail  by  modern  science.  The  only  conclusion,  therefore, 
which  reasonably  can  be  reached,  is  that  the  writer  of  this  chro- 


230  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

nology  was  inspired  in  his  efforts,  and  consequently, that  the  divine 
authenticity  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  has  been  corroborated  through 
the  researches  of  modern  science. 

(the  end.) 


The  Fisherman. 


(For  the  Improvement  Era.) 
Dawn  in  the  mountains,  its  glory  around  him, 

Far  from  the  turmoil  we  wage  for  greed's  god, 
Tints  that  no  brush  ever  yet  touched  to  canvas, 

Sparkling  dewdrops  that  litter  the  sod; 
Breath  of  the  wild-wood,  all  laden  with  fragrance — 

Sluggish  blood  leaps  at  the  mystery  it  feels, 
Waterfalls  tumble  with  echoing  laughter 

Here  at  the  shrine  where  the  fisherman  kneels. 

Hurrying  Night  hides  away  in  her  caverns, 

Conquered  and  routed  by  dimpling  Morn, 
Druid  trees  wave  high  their  pinions,  saluting 

Crags  a?ons  old  ere  their  green  shafts  were  born. 
All  the  wild  life  wakens  now  at  his  bidding, 

He,  the  great  Sun,  coming  into  his  own. 
Carroling  birds  raise  an  anthem  to  greet  him; 

Darkness  and  shadow  far  westward  have  flown. 

Untrammeled  waters  swirl,  heeding  no  master, 

Leaping  and  dashing  with  babble  and  roar, 
White  water-lilies  find  sun-dappled  haven 

In  some  broad  bend  cutting  into  the  shore. 
Shimmering  lake  glints  with  bright,  dancing  sunbeams, 

Rippling  waves  kiss  the  grass-covered  strand- 
Mother  and  fawn  crop  the  tender  young  cresses 

As  in  the  cool  water  knee-deep  they  stand. 
Wide  stands  the  door  to  the  soul  who  may  enter 

Into  the  holy  of  holies  laid  bare; 
Nature's  warm  pulse  throbs  with  joy  to  receive  him 

Into  her  temple  to  join  in  her  prayer, 
Raised  and  renewed  by  the  touch  she  accords  him. 

Sordidness  finds  in  his  being  no  part. 
Cleaner  and  better  he  comes  from  his  fishing, 

Feeling  a  kinship  with  Nature's  great  heart. 

Dr.  J.  Lloyd  Woodruff. 


Mapusaga,  a  Factor  in  Progressive  Samoa. 


BY   ELDER   JOHN   Q.    ADAMS,    OF   THE    SAMOAN   MISSION. 


III. 

Appearing  on  the  scene  of  comparatively  late  years,  the  elders 
of  the  Latter-day  Saints,  with  their  practical,  forceful  system  of 
training  the  natives,  have  done  much  to  raise  the  standard  of  intel- 
ligence of  this  island  race  to  the  requisite  level  of  comprehend- 
ing the  meaning  of  life,  where  they  might  appreciate  thoroughly 
and  live  consistently  the  gospel  principles.  Apparently  a  keen, 
correct  insight  into  the  difficult  problems  confronting  the  elders 
has  been  granted  them,  for  within  a  fleeting  twenty-eight 
years,  our  combined  school  and  colonization  system  has  forged  to 
the  front,  until  now  our  school  at  Mapusaga  is  the  recognized 
leader   anions    a  number   cf  much    older    institutions.     Or,    we 


GROUP  OF   MAPUSAGA  SCHOOL   BOYS   IN   ONE   OF  THEIR  PICTURESQUE 

DANCES. 


232 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


might  more  properly  say,  the  present  combination  dates  back  no 
further  than  1902. 

Why?  one  naturally  asks.  Laying  aside  all  religious  atmos- 
phere,— for  with  Truth  on  our  side  we  have  the  preponderating 
advantage — and  there  yet  remains  a  cogent  reason  or  so  to 
advance.  To  begin,  the  one 
irrefutable  fact  must  be  im- 
planted in  the  mind  of  the 
native,  that  no  true  happi- 
ness exists  in  an  idle  com- 
munity. Work,  asanantedote 
for  tropical  laziness,  is  a  rem- 
edy not  particularly  empha- 
sized by  others  to  the  extent 
that  the  Latter-day  Saints 
lay  stress  upon  it.  In  the 
development  of  our  two  local 
cocoanut  plantations  our 
Saints  have  done  the  brunt  of 
the  heavy,  manual  labor.  The 
on-looker  will  invariably  ask, 
"Do  they  take  to  it?"  "Why 
all  this  reversal  of  the  natur- 
ally lazy-going  order  of  a  hot 
zone?"  "Why  introduce  man- 
ual labor  among  a  race  who 
feast  continually  without  the 
worry  of  much  previous  preparation?"  Such  queries  were  propounded 
to  the  writer  by  a  tourist  in  Apia,  not  long  since,  and  here  is  the 
reply  given  him:  "My  dear  sir,  had  you  but  time  to  take  a  run  up  to 
our  model  village,  you  would  then  behold  a  community  consisting 
entirely  of  those  of  our  faith.  You  would  observe  the  men  going 
forth  in  the  early  morning,  with  axes  on  their  shoulders,  and  after 
swinging  all  day  at  forest  monsters,  return  in  the  evening,  weary 
but  contented.  You  would  see  the  women  as  industriously  engaged 
in  the  various  avocations  incident  to  such  scenes,  and  in  all  the 
hum  of  a  busily  engaged  collection  of  humanity,  you  would  fail  to 
find  a  discordant  note  of  discontent  or  unwillingness;  instead,  the 


HOW  COCOANUTS  ARE  BROUGHT 
TO  EARTH. 


MAP U SAGA,  A  FACTOR  IN  PROGRESSIVE  SAMOA.     232 


new  order  of  things  would 
strike  you  as  being  rather  a 
pleasing  contrast  to  outside 
conditions,  the  half -clad  sav- 
agery supplemented  by  the 
decently-attired,  happy,  con- 
tented individual." 

Thus  was  his  question 
answered,  and  thus  may  all 
similar  inquiries  be  met.  Our 
Saints  here,  as  elsewhere, 
work;  and  this  means  every- 
thing in  advancement. 

A       •  ,.,       ,,  A   BANANA- LEAF   HUT. 

Again,    while   the    uni- 
versal custom  of  the  islands  In  which  the  elder  lived  who  superin- 
.    ,            .  v              .,■.  tended  the  bush-cutting, 
is  to  use  tobacco  without  re-  & 

straint,rour  boys  and  girls  are  taught  its  baneful  effects;  and  by 
prohibiting  its  use,  we  have  model  villages  in  this  respect.     With 


GROUP   OF   TUTUILA  ELDERS  AND  NATIVE  SCHOOL  GIRL. 


GROUP   OF   MAPUSAGA   ENGLISH    SPEAKING   GIRLS. 


respect  to  the  old-time  customs  and  habits  which  are  difficult  to 
eradicate,  we  may  depend  upon  time  and  gradually  weaning,  to 
produce  an  entirely  different,  idealized  race  of  people. 

So  much  for  a  "preliminary  survey,"  which,  after  all,  is  the 
gist  of  at  least  one  division  of  the  subject  we  had  in  mind  in  the 
beginning.  A  paragraph  or  so  may  be 
added  relative  to  the  actual  prevailing 
conditions  of  the  school,  as  an  ob- 
server might  view  it,  in  its  daily  rout- 
ine. 

Suppose  he  should  come  strolling 
in  from  the  coast  some  early  morn- 
ing. After  an  inland  walk  of  three 
miles,  partly  through  banana  and 
cocoanut  patches,  and  partly  in  the 
dense  shade  of  the  tropical  wilderness, 
he  would  suddenly  emerge  into  the 
dazzling  light  of  a  big  clearing  adorned 
with  stumps,  great  tree-trunks  and 
short  shrubbery,  and  interspersed 
at  regular  intervals  with  small 
cocoanut  trees.      The    trail    borders    the     clearing    for    nearly 


BRINGING     THE    ELDERS 
FOOD. 


MAP  US  AG  A,  A  FACTOR  IN  PROGRESSIVE  SAMOA.      235 


a  mile,   the  broad,   bare  mountain  side  being  displayed  to  good 

advantage,  surmounted  by  a  fringe  of 
forest  for  all  the  world  like  a  gigantic? 
well-trimmed  pompadour.  (The  illus- 
tration appeared  in  the  November  Era, 
page  54.) 

Shortly,  extensive  banana  patches 
are  passed  and  directly  the  first  half- 
dozen  thatched  houses  of  our  village  peep 
out  from  either  side  of  the  trail,  as  the 
village  green  or  playground  is  traversed. 
The  elders'  house,  undoubtedly  the  only 
good  one  of  its  class  on  the  islands, 
looms  up  pretentiously  from  its  ele- 
vated site.  It  is  large  and  roomy — 56x25 
feet,  with  lumber  floor,  partitions  and 
side  railings,  the  upper  part  being 
native    made.        It  is   at  once    simple, 


ONE   OF    OUR    BRIGHT 
YOUNG   BOYS 


SECTION  (  F  MAPUSAGA,  AS  IT  APPEARS  FR"M  THE  MOUNTAIN-SIDE. 


236 


IMPRO  VEMENT  ERA . 


strong,  and  above  all  else,  cool  and  airy — a  necessary  point 
to  be  consideredhere.  The  church  and  schoolhouse,  a  large, 
frame  building  is  also  situated  on  a  commanding  spot  of  ground, 
and  one  is  struck  with  astonishment  to  learn  that  the  material  for 
both  these  large  buildings,  as  well  as  for  other  things,  was  all 
carried  up  a  narrow,  stony,  bushy  trail,  a  distance  of  three  miles, 
on  the  backs  of  school  boys  and  girls.     Rather  a  forceful  argu- 


The  photos  in  this  article  by  the  author. 
ELDERS'  HOUSE,  MAPUSAGA. 


ment  of  itself,  no  doubt.  Tons  of  sand  and  lime-rock,  boards, 
timbers,  roofing  iron,  kegs  of  nails,  barrels  of  cement, 
each  weighing  three  hundred  and  sixty  pounds,  etc.,  etc.,  all  find  a 
secure  resting  place  upon  the  calloused  shoulders  of  these  children, 
and  all  without  complaint.  And  added  to  this  is  the  fact  that  in 
the  early  morning  food  is  prepared,  while  from  seven  until  twelve 
they  are  busy  in  school.  Immediately  upon  dismissal  of  school, 
off  they  trudge,  day  after  day,  to  either  weed  the  plantation  with 


MAP U SAGA,  A  FACTOR  IN  PROGRESSIVE  SAMOA.      287 


great,  long  knives,  cut  trees,  or  carry  burdens  of  various  sorts 

from  the  coast.  Is 
it  any  wonder  that 
the  elders  learn  to 
love  them? 

Laboring  in 
such  a  place  is  in- 
spirational in  many 
ways.  One  sees  a 
small,  uncouth  tot 
begin  an  uphill  ca- 
reer in  the  school, 
his  instinct  telling 
him  that  Samoan 
ideals  are  in  advance 

CHURCH   AND   SCHOOLHOUSE.  °f  a11    otners>    wmle 

This  building  serves  for  both  church  and  sohool.  ms  teacher  an(|  sur" 
The  material  was  carried  on  the  backs  of  school  rounding  conditions 
children,  from  the  coast,  a  distance  of  three  forcefully  proclaim 
miles,  up  a  stony,  narrow,  bushy  trail. 

to      the     contrary. 

By  degrees,  as  months  mould  themselves  into  years,  perhaps 
two  or  three,  the  once  rough  diamond  takes  on  a  polish  of 
the  sort  that  most  encourages  the  teacher,  and  in  the  semi-annual 
pilgrimage  our  school  takes  to  Pago  Pago,  with  a  well  prepared 
conference  program  to  present  before  the  crew  of  the  man  of  war 
stationed  there,  the  children  are  supremely  happy  in  the  light  of 
the  new  life. 

In  conclusion:  There  is  deep  joy  and  satisfaction  in  this 
bringing  of  the  young  generation  of  Lamanites  to  the  compara- 
tively high  standard  their  forefathers  once  departed  from  when 
jealousy,  hatred  and  sin  crept  into  the  family  of  Father  Lehi, 
sending  his  two  eldest  sons  on  a  downward  course,  as  the  progeni- 
tors of  a  race  that,  after  some  hundreds  of  years  of  retrogression, 
has  fallen  into  line  with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  is  steadily 
regaining  lost  ground.  In  the  accomplishing  of  this  on  these 
islands,  our  school  at  Mapusaga  is  playing  a  recognized  part  of 
consequence. 

Pago  Pago,  Samoa. 


Life's  Work. 


(For  the  Improvement  Era.) 

How  weak  the  words  we  often  choose, 
How  frail  the  weapons  that  we  use, 

In  teaching  truth  or  fighting  wrong! 
And  duty's  oft  a  dusty  road, 
And  for  our  strength  too  great  the  load, 

As  the  still  years  pass  along. 

But  sometimes,  through  a  mist  of  tears, 
Fair  blooming  in  the  vale  of  years, 

All  unexpectedly  we  meet 
A  young  soul  saved,  a  sin  laid  low, 
A  virtue  planted  where  'twould  grow  — 

A  recompense  for  weary  feet. 

Then  to  oblivion's  shadowy  plain, 
Departs  the  care,  the  grief,  the  pain , 

The  soul  bathes  in  immortal  light ; 
We  feel  God  rather  blessed  the  thought 
Than  anything  our  hands  have  wrought, 

'Tis  his,  the  soul,  the  truth,  the  fight. 

How  bright  the  blooms  from  seeds  we  sow, 
Only  the  Infinite  can  know, 

Our  dim  eyes  cannot  see. 
What  depth  of  bliss  or  wordless  woe 
May  from  our  lightest  accents  flow, 

Is  curtained  by  eternity. 

Ellen  Lfe  Sanders. 

Provo,  Utah. 


The  Nephite  Shepherd. 


A  Book  of  Mormon  Story,  in  Two  Parts. 

BY  ARTHUR  V.    W ATKINS. 


Part  Two. 
I. — Tomorrow — and  then — a  Kingdom! 

It  was  a  beautiful  day.  The  fields  outside  the  city  were  car- 
peted with  vegetation.  Nature  had  smiled  on  the  people  of  Zara- 
hemla.  The  spring  rains  had  been  plentiful.  The  harvest  the 
year  before  was  great,  but  the  prospects  for  the  one  in  the 
future  were  even  greater.  The  parks  within  the  city  were  at  the 
height  of  beauty.  The  trees,  tropic  and  temperate,  were  loaded 
with  blossoms,  filling  the  air  with  a  delightful  fragrance.  The 
lawns  and  gardens  were  in  such  splendor  as  to  cause  the  heart  of 
the  worst  pessimist  to  rejoice. 

Glad,  apparently,  were  the  hearts  of  two  young  people,  as 
they  sat  looking  into  each  others'  faces,  upon  this  day  when  all 
the  world  seemed  to  smile.  But  it  was  only  seemingly,  as  later 
events  proved.  They  had  been  out  in  the  garden,  in  the  rear  of 
the  chief  governor's  home,  talkiDg  of  their  coming  marriage. 
They  had  spent  many  evenings  in  the  garden,  listening  to  the  play 
of  the  fountains,  hunting  some  new  flower,  or  watching  the  sun 
set  beyond  the  distant  mountains  of  their  beloved  land.  To  Zira 
it  seemed  almost  an  enchanted  place — this  garden  of  her  father's 
— she  never  became  tired  of  being  in  it,  and  showing  its  beauty  to 
those  whom  she  loved. 

To  Zemnariah  it  was  a  doubly  enchanted  place,  almost  holy, 


240  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

if  such  thing  were  possible  in  this  life.  To  this  home  he  had  been 
welcomed  by  the  generous  governor.  Their  friendship  had  com- 
menced at  the  time  of  the  rescue  of  Lamoni  and  Zira  from  the 
hands  of  the  mob  on  that  eventful  day  of  Samuel's  prophecy. 
Through  this  one  act  of  bravery,  Zemnariah  had  won  the  love  and 
confidence  of  the  governor's  household.  True,  he  had  known  the 
family  before,  but  it  had  been  only  as  mere  acquaintances.  He 
had  known  Zira  in  the  schools  of  the  city,  and  there  he  had  learned 
to  love  her. 

That  incident,  five  years  previous,  had  been  a  lucky  one  for 
Zemnarihah  and  the  cause  he  was  sworn  to  serve.  Even  Giddianhi 
was  pleased.  The  very  thing  the  society  needed  was  a  member 
who  shared  the  confidence  of  the  governor,  or  chief  judge.  It 
mattered  little  to  him  that  it  made  of  the  youth  a  traitor  to 
friends. 

The  governor  stood  in  the  way,  and,  as  it  was  his  office  they 
were  working  for,  they  must  put  him  out  of  the  way.  According 
to  the  law,  he  held  the  office  for  life.  It  was  their  plan  to  take 
his  life  as  soon  as  they  had  the  necessary  support  from  the  peo- 
ple. It  was  five  years  from  the  day  that  Samuel  had  made  his 
remarkable  prophecy  —  many  claimed  it  was  past  the  day. 
It  was  now  time  to  strike  the  blow  that  would  make  Zemnarihah 
governor,  and  then  all  would  be  easy  sailing  for  the  astute 
Giddianhi. 

But  to  return  to  the  lovers  in  the  garden.  Zemnarihah  was 
speaking. 

"When  I  look  into  your  face,  Zira,  I  become  impatient.  It's 
no  use  for  us  to  wait  longer  for  that  time  to  come  The  day  is 
already  past,  some  say,  that  the  sign  should  be  given.  It's  all 
foolishness  for  us  to  wait  longer.  Can  you  not  see  that  I  love 
you,  and  that  it  is  my  great  love  for  you  that  makes  me 
impatient?" 

"Yes,  I  know  you  love  me,  Zemnarihah;  but  I  don't  under- 
stand you.  Why  this  sudden  haste?  Why  today — and  against 
father's  wish,  when  in  a  few  days,  at  the  longest,  we  may  be  mar- 
ried and  have  his  blessing?  If  we  should  be  married  today,  while 
he  is  at  Moroni,  I  would  be  disgraced  in  his  eyes.  A  father's 
blessing  never  would  be  ours." 


THE  NEPHITE  SHEPHERD.  241 

"I  have  waited  so  long  for  you— these  many  years!"  he 
pleaded. 

"And  it  is  because  I  desire  to  keep  your  respect  and  love  that 
I  would  have  you  wait,"  she  replied.  "Oh,  I  wonder  why  that  mes- 
sage came  just  as  it  did?  Father  felt  impressed  not  to  go,  but 
the  messenger  said  the  affair  was  urgent,  so  he  set  off  at  once,  and 
he  is  needed  so  badly  here!" 

"But— Zira— " 

"Speak  no  further  of  it.  I  will  not  consent.  'Honor  thy 
father  and  thy  mother,'  is  the  law  of  God.  Don't  tempt  me  to 
break  it." 

"Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother!"  It  rang  in  his  ears.  A 
flash  of  memory  brought  back  the  scene  in  the  bed-chamber,  his 
father  lying  on  his  death-bed.  It  came  nearly  catching  him  off  his 
guard;  but  he  was  already  steeped  too  much  in  sin  for  his  bleared 
conscience  to  hurt  him.  Banquets,  flattery,  wine  and  women  had 
finally  hardened  him  to  anything  like  the  sting  of  a  guilty  con- 
science. Giddianhi  had  done  his  work  well,  he  had  brought  the 
youth  around  to  just  where  he  wanted  him,  by  letting  him  have 
his  own  way. 

"Zira,  you  are  a  dear  girl.  Little  do  1  wonder  that  half  the 
men  in  the  city  are  in  love  with  you.  I  am  really  getting  jealous. 
Forgive  me  now  for  my  impetuosity.  Since  you  deny  me  that,  I 
have  but  one  more  request  to  make.  Please  don't  deny  me  that," 
he  pleaded.  "Meet  me  tomorrow  evening  about  sundown,  in  the 
garden,  the  same  place  where  we  meet  today." 

"I  promise,"  she  answered  quickly,  feeling  that  she  ought  to 
concede  something  because  of  his  generosity  in  yielding. 

"You  may  think  it  strange,"  he  continued,  "but  I  feel  that 
tomorrow  night  you  may  need  my  protection.  There  is  a  feeling 
of  unrest  among  the  populace,  but  nothing  serious,  so  don't  be 
alarmed.  I  am  only  anxious  to  be  in  your  presence.  It  is  punish- 
ment to  be  awr.y.  I  must  be  going  now— some  important  affairs 
need  my  attention.*' 

A  passionate  embrace,  and  he  bade  her  farewell,  saying, 
"Dont  forget  the  walk  in  the  garden." 

Out  in  the  street  he  walked  rapidly,  until  he  came  to  the  pub- 
lic park  adjoining  the  governor's  home.    Here,  he  walked  leisurely, 


242  7MPR0  VEMENT  ERA . 

turning  his  head  now  and  then  to  look  back.  Seeing  that  no  one 
was  in  tight,  he  darted  quickly  behind  a  thicket  of  shrubs,  then 
walked  cautiously  into  the  wooded  portion  of  the  park.  Arriving 
at  a  certain  tree,  he  eyed  carefully  some  faint  marks  on  its  sur- 
face. Being  assured  that  it  was  the  place  he  was  looking  for,  he 
gave  a  low  whistle.  A  few  moments  passed  in  silence,  a  dry  twig 
or  two  snapped,  and  he  stood  face  to  face  with  Giddianhi. 

"What  developments,  Giddianhi?" 

"All  goes  well.  The  meeting  of  the  society  was  held  at 
your  home.  Reports  from  the  various  officers  showed  that  the  city 
is  with  us,  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  people  are  ready  and  willing 
to  execute  our  plans.  We  are  sure  of  success  at  last;  nothing  but 
the  impossible  can  prevent  it." 

"What  was  the  decision  of  the  meeting?" 

"Just  as  we  had  planned.  The  proposition  went  through 
without  a  dissenting  vote.  All  those  who  believe  in  the  utter- 
ings  of  Samuel  are  to  die  tomorrow  evening  at  dusk,  except — " 

"Except  what?" 

"Except  the  sign  be  given.  The  men  to  do  the  slaying  are 
already  appointed.  You  and  I  are  to  lead  them.  What  did  you 
find  out  at  the  governor's  home?" 

"The  governor  took  the  bait.  He  is  now  in  Moroni,  and 
cannot  return  in  time  to  hinder  our  plans  in  the  least,"  replied 
Zemnariah. 

"Is  that  all?" 

"No,"  he  continued.  "The  house  is  well  guarded.  Lamoni^ 
the  converted  Lamanite,  is  the  watch-dog.  We  will  have  to  dis- 
pose of  him.  I  leave  that  to  you,  also.  I  found  a  hiding  place 
for  the  men." 

"Ah,  then  the  girl  wouldn't  marry  you  today?  What  about 
the  hiding  place?"  queried  Giddianhi. 

"She  will  be  in  the  south  side  of  the  garden  shortly  be-ore 
sunset.  It  is  a  retired  spot,  suitable  for  our  purpose,"  the  other 
answered- 

"Wouldn't  marry  you — ha,  ha!"  Giddianhi  mused.  "Well,  I 
suppose  it  is  better  to  wait  a  day  or  two — the  other  plan  will  work 
better.      Perhaps  the  offer  of  a  king  to  make  her  a  queen  will  be 


THE  NEPHITE  SHEPHERD.  243 

more  of  a  temptation."    He  laughed  gutturally.  "Tomorrow— and 
then — a  kingdom!" 

Giddianhi  whistled  softly  twice.  In  a  few  moments  three 
armed  men  appeared.  He  introduced  them  as  members  just  in 
from  the  mountains.  They  were  to  be  Zemnarihah's  companions 
in  his  little  plan  with  Zira. 

II. — Watching  and  Waiting. 

Zira  was  troubled.  Why  should  he  want  to  be  married  today, 
when  her  father  was  expected  home  the  next  night?  Although 
she  accepted  the  explanation  that  it  was  because  of  his  impetuosity 
and  intense  love,  yet  she  was  troubled.  His  request  took  on  a 
new  significance,  when  she  remembered  the  suspicions  Lamoni  had 
revealed  to  her  the  day  previous.  Strange  she  had  not  thought  of 
it  before.  Lamoni  said  he  had  seen  Zemnariah  talking  with  a  man, 
near  the  east  gate,  who  very  much  resembled  the  messenger  from 
Moroni.  It  could  not  be  that  Zemnariah  had  anything  to  do  with 
her  father  being  called  away?  Impossible!  And  she  chided  her- 
self for  thinking  it.  Thus  the  matter  was  dismissed  from  her 
mind. 

While  thinking  over  the  past  interview,  she  had  been  select- 
ing some  of  her  father's  favorite  flowers  to  put  in  his  room,  in  case 
he  should  return  before  morning.  She  was  engaged  at  this  when 
Lamoni — the  converted  Lamanite— approached  her. 

"Oh,  I'm  so  glad  to  see  you!"  she  said,  holding  out  her  hand. 
"I  have  wondered  where  you  were  all  this  day.  You  went  with- 
out greeting  me  this  morning.  What  makes  you  so  pale?  You 
work  too  hard  these  warm  days,  my  good  Lamoni.  What  would 
father  do  without  you,  I  wonder?     Not  tired?    Come,  what  is  it?" 

"Nothing  that  I  am  sure  of,  dear  Zira — only  this:  the  city  is 
in  an  uproar — the  people  seem  to  have  gone  mad.  There  is  great 
trouble  coming.  I  heard  of  it  in  the  market-place,  among  the 
merchants  and  street  gossipers,  and  even  in  the  Hall  of  Justice. 
Woe  be  unto  our  people!  Woe  be  unto  Zarahemla,  our  beloved 
city!     Oh,  God,  be  merciful!"     He  paused. 

"Come,  Lamoni!"     Zira  waited  with  breathless  expectation. 

"The  people  are  raving  against  the  government,  claiming 
that  they  will  have  no  more   priests  ruling  over  them.     And  the 


244  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

poor  people,  who  believe  in  Samuel's  words,  are  taunted,  ridiculed 
and  beaten  in  the  streets.  Oh,  that  your  father  were  here!  He 
might  stop  their  sufferings. 

"The  worst  is  yet  to  come.  I  heard  whisperings  of  some- 
thing dark  and  bloody  for  tomorrow.  It  is  with  this  that  I  am 
greatly  concerned.  I  fear  for  the  lives  of  the  people  of  God.  I 
went  today  to  the  judges,  under  your  father,  and  asked  them  for 
armed  protection  for  our  people;  but  this  they  denied  me.  They 
laughed  and  mocked,  told  me  to  go  back  to  the  Lamanites,  and 
that  I  had  no  business  in  a  Nephite  city.  But,  Zira,  I  should  not 
tell  you  this— no  need  for  you  to  suffer,  also." 

"But  can  there  be  nothing  done?  Are  there  no  means  of 
protection?"  was  the  girl's  passionate  cry. 

"Only  one."  Lamoni  spoke  impressively.  "And  that  is  not 
within  human  power,  but  belongs  to  God  alone.  You  know  that 
my  kinsman,  Samuel,  declared  that  the  Son  of  God  would  be  born 
in  five  years  from  the  time  he  spoke.  The  wicked  say  the  time 
has  already  passed,  that  Samuel  was  a  liar,  and  that  his  followers 
are  liars  and  thieves.  The  fulfiling  of  that  promise  will  confound 
our  enemies,  and  all  will  be  well.     May  that  day  be  quickened!" 

The  girl  whispered  an  Amen,  saying,  "The  prayers  of  the 
righteous  never  go  unanswered!     Let  us  hope!" 

"Zira,  you  are  a  brave  girl!"  He  turned  abruptly  around. 
"There  is  something,  Zira,  that  I  have  longed  to  tell  you  for 
years,  but  I  have  held  it  back.  Tonight,  there  is  something  within 
me  that  compels  utterance — God  knows  I  may  never  have  another 
chance — Zira,  I  love  you!" 

She  stood  speechless. 

"I  am  wrong— I  should  not  have  told  you!"  he  quickly  added. 
"But  I- could  not  help  loving  you,  although  I  knew  your  heart  and 
hand  were  given  to  another,  and  that  I  had  no  right  to  speak.  But 
it  is  done — forgive  my  rashness!" 

She  held  out  her  hands.  "Lamoni,  you  are  too  good.  I  do 
not  deserve  your  love.  Pray  to  God  that  you  may  come  to  love 
another  far  more  deserving.  Let  us  remain  brother  and  sister,  as 
we  have  been  for  the  years  that  we  have  known  each  other. 
Look,  the  sun  is  setting!  May  we  not  see  the  glorious  things 
spoken  of,  this  very  night?" 


THE  NEPHITE  SHEPHERD.  245 

Hand  in  hand  they  went  to  a  stone  seat  on  a  little  eminence 
in  the  garden,  and  there  sat  waiting  and  watching.  A  picture  of 
beauty  they  were.  Zira,  her  long,  dark  braids  of  hair  hanging 
down  her  back,  the  white  silk  robe,  loosely  fastened  at  her  throat, 
revealed  a  neck  of  spotless  white.  Lamoni,  with  the  curse  of 
Laman  removed,  was  a  peer  in  manly  grace,  if  not  a  superior,  to 
any  of  his  Nephite  brethren. 

The  sun  disappeared;  expectation  increased;  every  moment  of 
time  was  carefully  counted,  the  heavens  watched.  A  star  here 
and  there  became  dimly  visible,  gradually  growing  brighter.  Twi- 
light faded  away,  and  with  it  the  hopes  of  many  of  the 
despairing. 

(TO   BE  CONCLUDED  IN  FEBRUARY  ERA.) 


Thou  Art  Everywhere  Before  Us. 

{For  the  Improvement  Era.) 


Thou  art  everywhere  before  us, 

Lord,  dispelling  all  our  fears, 
In  the  blue  dome  arching  o'er  us 

Pregnant  with  her  plunging  spheres. 

In  the  seasons,  slowly  filing 

Down  the  ages'  broad  expanse, 
We  behold  thee  kindly  smiling 

Through  fair  nature's  countenance. 

In  the  love-light  softly  glowing 

Deep  in  every  human  breast, 
In  the  blessings  to  us  flowing, 

Thy  great  love  is  manifest. 

All  things  point  to  thy  parental 

Hand,   0  gracious  Lord,  but  most 
We  may  know  thee  through  the  gentle 

Whisper  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Theodore  E.  Curtis. 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 

(For  the  Improvement  Era.) 

Hail  Winter's  Spring! — When  the  heart  flowers — 

Peep  out,  peep  out,  oh,  purple  violet 

Of  Love,  hide  thou  no  longer  in  the  leaves 

Of  thy  reserve.     'Tis  time  to  show  the  world 

That  thou  art  here. 

Ah  me,  and  what  a  Spring : — 
All  summer's  flowers  lavished  from  the  first. 
"Here's  pansies — they're  for  thoughts" — old  thoughts  made 

new — 
New  love  for  the  old  loves  time  holds  more  dear. 
Here  are  Forget-me-nots — smiles  of  those  eyes 
That  looked  most  kindly  on  you.    Here's  a  thing — 
A  leaf  from  what  we  scarcely  call  a  shrub, 
Almost  a  weed — the  half  restrained,  half  free 
Movement  of  kinship  from  a  beggar's  hand 
We  partly  touched  in  passing.    Sunflower  here 
Speaks  of  a  friend  that  laughed  and  made  her  laugh 
Golden,  that  desert  wastes  might  gleam  more  fair. 
And  here's  a  primrose,  fragile,  heavenly  sweet, 
The  fragrance  of  a  baby's  mouth  that  smiled. 
Ho !  old  King  Winter,  but  thy  garden's  fair ! 

Yon  icicle  hung  pendant  from  the  roof 

Is  never  water-gyved  by  Jailor  Frost, 

'Tis  heaven's  white  orchid,  rarest  of  rare  flowers, 

That  caught  within  its  insect-loving  lips 

Six  little  glow  worms  speeding  from  the  sun, 

Six  little  glow  worms  that  can  fly  so  fast 

They  make  all  places  one. 


THE  NEW  YEAR.  247 

Now,  what  is  this 
Fair,  vapory,  feathery  thing  my  breath  throws  out? 
Ay,  here's  a  fancy — 'Tis  that  splendid  thing 
That  opej  but  once  a  year,  the  exquisite 
Night  blooming  cerus  that  in  Winter's  Spring 
We  dub  Forgetfulness.    Low  on  the  graves 
Of  all  dead  hatreds,  dead  desires,  dead  griefs, 
Lay  this  white,  sheeny  bloom.     No  more  a  tho't 
Shall  go  their  silent  way.    No  more  a  tear 
Shall  damp  their  sward.    No  more  a  hand  shall  clench 
Or  brows  grow  knotted  with  the  weight  of  them. 
Let  them  rot  where  they  lie!  and  fertilize 
The  earth  to  fairer  things — Who  cares? — not  we! — 
The  world  is  beautiful — it  teems  with  Life — 
God!  who  would  stop  to  haggle  with  the  dead? — 
The  teeming  world ! — It  stretches  like  a  fan, 
'Tis  all  outspread! — We  stand  upon  the  point, 
And  that  great  unknown,  that  vast  wondrous  rest 
Is  all  BEFORE! 

Oh,  ring,  ring  out,  ye  bells, 
Ye  bells  of  Yuletide  that  proclaim  the  Birth ; 
Ring  till  that  farther  season  that  chimes  forth 
"Lo,  He  is  ris'n!" 

I  stand  upon  the  Bridge 
That  links  ye  both  and  lets  no  stream  divide — 
The  bridge  of  the  ETERNAL ! 

All  may  go, 
Cycle  on  cycle,  endless,  infinite, 
Birth,  Death  and  Rising, 

Ring,  oh,  ring,  ye  bells, 
There  cometh  aye  a  time  when  all  is  NEW ! 

Kate  Thomas. 


The  Crown  of  Individuality. 

BY   WILLIAM   GEORGE   JORDAN. 


XIII. — The  Optimism  that  Really  Counts. 

Optimism  is  the  sunshine  of  the  soul  radiated  in  action.  It  is 
true  religion  as  a  living,  compelling  fact — not  a  mere  theory.  It 
is  sturdy  confidence  that  right  must  triumph — united  to  tireless 
courage  to  make  it  triumph.  Optimism  is  the  finest  weapon  in  the 
armory  of  the  individual.  It  unifies  all  the  aggressive,  undaunted 
virtues  of  his  strength  into  a  force  and  an  inspiration.  It  means 
fighting  for,  or  with,  the  battalions  of  right,  love,  justice  and 
truth — with  determination  to  win.  True  optimism  is  something 
more  than  a  continuous  performance  of  hope.  It  is  the  joy  of  living 
— made  an  actual  fact.  It  means  seeking  the  best,  living  the  best, 
doing  the  best.  It  means  focusing  all  that  is  highest  in  our 
character  to  meet  conditions. 

Merely  thinking,  hoping  and  trusting  that  somehow,  somewhere, 
somewhen,  things  will  come  out  right,  while  we  do  nothing  to  make 
them  come  out  right,  is  sunstruck  folly — not  optimism.  It  is  a 
hammock  philosophy  for  a  sultry  day,  when  you  are  too  drowsy  to 
think  and  really  do  not  care  what  whimsey  of  non-thinking  plays 
games  in  your  mind.  No  farmer  outside  of  the  pages  of  The 
Arabian  Nights  would  expect  nature  alone  to  seed  and  fertilize 
and  plow  his  fields  and  then  to  harvest  his  crops  and  put  them  in 
his  barns  without  any  human  help  whatever  but  his  thinking.  The 
exaggerated  belief  in  the  superhuman  effect  of  thought  as  a  direct 
power  is — the  folly  of  many. 


*  From  The  Crown  of  Individuality.      Copyright,  1909,  by  Fleming 
H.  Re  veil  Company. 


THE  CROWN  OF  INDIVIDUALITY.  249 

This  truly  comfortable  restfulness  is  merely  a  perfumed  hot- 
air  sentimentality.  It  dulls  moral  energy  and  deadens  purpose. 
It  is  opiatism — not  optimism.  It  is  only  mental  or  moral  lazi- 
ness, wearing  a  rainbow  robe  of  beautiful  confidence.  It  may 
give  a  temporary  fictitious  strength  to  character,  but  is  ever 
revealed  as  weakness — in  a  crisis.  It  is  only  a  papier-mache 
shield— punctured  in  the  first  battle  with  the  stern  realities  of  life. 

There  is  a  light,  jaunty,  bubbling,  care-free  humor  that  takes 
the  low  fences  of  petty  worries — neatly,  gracefully.  It  smiles 
nonchalantly  because  it  has  never  seen  real  trouble.  This  light- 
weight philosophy  usually  wilts  at  the  first  touch  of  real  sorrow, 
grief  and  loss,  like  a  straw  hat  meeting  a  sudden  rain-storm.  This 
is  a  sort  of  kindergarten  optimism  that  sees  only  the  sun — 
untouched  by  clouds.  Real  optimism  knows  the  sun  is  ever  shin- 
ing—despite the  dark,  heavy  clouds  that  may  obscure  it.  It 
knows  that  darkness  is  ever  the  herald  and  messenger  of  dawn — 
the  new  illumination  and  inspiration  that  must  come.  True  optim- 
ism seeks  to  live  in  the  broad  sunlight — when  it  can.  It  seeks  to 
rest  serene  and  confident  of  the  outcome— when  all  seems  dark. 

Verestchagin,  the  great  Russian  painter,  had  a  glass  studio 
constructed  at  his  home  near  Paris.  It  revolved  on  wheels,  moved 
by  a  windlass  placed,  near  his  easel,  and  he  was  thus  enabled  to 
paint  all  day  with  the  sunlight  falling — in  one  direction  on  his 
models  and  drapery.  He  who  has  cultivated  optimism  to  be  part 
of  the  real  equipment  of  character  thus  turns  constantly  to  the 
light  of  truth,  love  and  kindness,  and  to  the  growing  brightness  of 
the  real  things  of  our  living. 

Cheerfulness  has  done  much  good;  it  has  been  stimulating, 
kindly  and  helpful.  It  causes  a  cheery  message.  It  often  pre- 
vents sorrow,  worry,  deep  grief  from  becoming  contagious.  This 
cheerfulness  is  sweet  when  natural;  brave,  strong  and  sturdy  when 
assumed.  Cheerfulness  is  a  sort  of  germicide  of  the  emotions;  it 
deadens  their  power  to  injure  others,  and  soothes  the  individual. 
But  cheerfulness  at  its  very  best  and  highest  is  not— optimism. 
It  has  never  the  full,  free  completeness,  finality,  depth  of— 
optimism. 

Cheerfulness  may  be  a  blossom  of  which  optimism  is  the  plant, 
Cheerfulness  may  be  refreshing  rills  of  which   optimism  is  the 


250  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

fountain.  Cheerfulness  may  be  a  smile  on  the  face;  optimism  is 
the  smile  in  the  heart  when  one  is  fighting  hardest.  Cheer- 
fulness may  be  the  gentle  bubbling  voice  of  a  hopeful  tempera- 
ment or  a  sunny  disposition;  optimism  is  the  clear,  convincing 
individual  tone  of  the  finest  depth  of  our  character. 

Optimism  seeks  to  discover  the  good  points  in  the  acts  of 
those  around  us,  to  let  their  little  weaknesses  and  failings  fade  into 
nothingness  in  the  shadow  of  our  charity.  It  seeks  to  empha- 
size their  best,  to  recognize  it,  to  appeal  to  it,  to  call  it  forth  and 
to  develop  it.  A  smile,  a  word  of  sympathy,  a  touch  of  human 
kindness,  a  handclasp  of  fellowship,  an  unexpected  bit  of  tender- 
ness, courtesy  or  consideration,  will  accomplish  wonders.  It  is 
syndicating  sunlight,  and  that  is  what  real  optimism  is.  It  has  a 
cheering,  magic,  healthful  power  that  no  amount  of  criticism  or 
reproof  could  accomplish  in  changing  others.  True  optimism  must 
begin  in  the — thought.  It  must  be  real  and  living  in  word,  act 
and  atmosphere.  It  cannot  be  put  on  as  a  veneer  from  the  outside; 
this  is  a  grand-stand  play,  not  a  private  performance. 

Optimism  cannot  foresee  the  suffering  that  may  come  to  us, 
but  we  can  sturdily  determine  the  effect  we  will  let  it  have  on  us. 
Sorrow  comes  in  no  many  guises,  but  we  must  all  "drink  our  cup." 
The  hardest  of  all  our  cups  of  sorrow  comes  from  the  hand  that 
should  never  be  the  one  to  force  it  to  our  lips,  or  it  is  some  cup 
that  gives  agony  to  us  because  we  cannot  save  another  from  it. 
There  is  the  stirrup  cup  of  parting,  when  we  turn  our  horse's  head 
away  from  the  inn  of  our  hope — never  to  return.  The  quassia  cup 
made  bitter  by  that  from  which  it  is  cut,  and  more  bitter  in 
memory. 

The  loving-cup,  when  moistened  by  unmeaning  lips  and  passed 
to  us,  may  later  seem  to  carry  a  note  of  treachery  we  may  not 
understand  aright — till  too  late.  There  is  the  cup  of  consolation 
that  kindly  hands  gently  press  to  fevered  lips.  There  is  that  great- 
est cup  of  a  final,  supreme  grief  like  that  given  to  the  great  Optim- 
ist of  Calvary  that  "could  not  pass."  These  are  but  types  of  the 
cups  of  life.  We  should  drink  them — if  drink  we  must — as 
Socrates  bravely  drank  his  poisoned  hemlock,  valiantly  quitting  a 
world  unworthy  his  noble  life  with  them. 

The  man  of  optimism  should  be  kindest  in  criticizing  others  and 


THE  CROWN  OF  INDIVIDUALITY.  251 

never  put  the  hand  of  harsh  judgment  on  the  unhealed  wound  of 
another's  sorrow.  Keenly,  vividly,  personally  conscious  of  the 
trials,  cares,  sorrow,  hunger,  loneliness  and  suffering  of  life,  he 
knows  how  often  he  failed  and  still  fought  on  till  at  last  he  found 
his  way— back  to  the  sunlight.  The  optimist  believes  courageously 
that  there  is  a  reserve  strength  in  man  that  brings  sudden  new 
inspiration  to  bear  or  to  conquer,  like  the  unexpected  arrival  of 
new  food  or  troops  in  a  siege. 

The  optimist,  with  new  courage  in  his  heart,  new  determina- 
tion in  his  mind,  and  rebel  tears  secretly  gleaming  near  his  eyes, 
may  rise  superior  to  all  unjust  assaults.  He  may  accept  needless 
pain  without  cynicism,  may  meet  betrayal  without  thought  of 
revenge,  may  have  to  battle  face  to  face  with  cruel  disappointment 
without  flinching  and  yet  be  victorious  in  a  bettered  self,  though 
vanquished  in  what  was  dearest — the  hope  and  heaven  of  his 
living. 

Optimism  realizes  that  life  is  bigger  than  any  single 
battle.  The  true  soul  has  no  final  Waterloo;  it  has  only  its  latest 
defeat,  with  its  golden  message  of  why  it  failed  and  how  it  may 
win  in  the  next  conflict.  There  may  be  in  a  very  defeat  an 
unwonted  victory  within  our  own  life — a  new  revelation  of  latent 
power,  and  a  glow  and  tingle  of  new  courage.  This  may  come  to 
us  while  the  bugle  notes  of  triumph  of  the  enemy  still  ring  in  our 
ears,  their  flaunting  shouts  of  victory  yet  telling  us  of  the  prize  we 
have  lost,  and  their  smiles  of  conquest  hardly  faded  from  their 
eyes  and  lips.  Many  a  seeming  defeat  may  force  us  to  retreat  to 
higher  grounds,  where  we  may  stand  in  stronger  array,  rein- 
trenched,  reinspirited — to  fight  harder  than  ever. 

With  true  optimism,  we  can  face  poverty  without  permitting 
it  to  harden  us,  we  can  meet  trial  and  sorrow  and  remain  calm  and 
unworried, stand  bravely  when  we  do  not  see  the  way  to  walk.  We 
can  let  the  glow  of  optimism  so  warm  our  soul  that  we  rema-'n 
simple,  strong,  sincere,  and  unruffled  despite  any  environment. 
We  thus  may  conquer  adverse  conditions  by  making  them  powerless 
to  harm  us — when  we  are  unable  to  change  them.  Optimism  is 
the  armor  of  brave  souls  who  fight  conditions  and  never  surrender 
to  domination  by  the  darker  side  of  life  that  dares  to  daunt  them. 

The  optimism  that  counts  does  not  let  the  individual— take 


252 


IMPRO  YEMEN T  ERA . 


whatever  thoughts  may  come.  It  is  a  power  that  enables  him  to  a 
degree  to  select  his  own  thoughts,  to  stimulate  and  encourage 
those  that  add  to  his  strength,  that  are  wings  to  his  purpose,  that 
thrill  his  energy  with  new  consciousness  of  power.  He  gains  con- 
trol over  those  memories  that  take  the  smile  from  his  face, 
strength  from  his  mind  and  joy  from  his  heart.  Optimism  inspires 
a  man  to  reduce  all  depressing  effects  to  a  minimum,  to  raise 
resistance  to  a  maximum,  to  cut  off  the  friction  of  worry  and  use- 
less regret.  They  magnify  weakness,  minify  strength.  Optimism 
has  no  use  for  them. 

We  never  make  conditions  easier  by  telling  ourselves  how 
awful  our  troubles  are ;  by  feeding  our  griefs  for  fear  they  may  die 
a  natural  death;  by  intensifying  every  element  of  pain.  The 
optimism  that  is  worth  anything  makes  one  person  smile  at  troub- 
les that  would  put  another  out  of  the  running  altogether.  It  finds 
joy  because  it  is  trained  to  see  the  tiniest  glint  of  it  as  a  miner's 
eyes  are  quick  to  recognize  the  slightest  speck  of  gold  in  his  pan. 
Optimism  sees  roses  in  life  because  it  is  looking  for  them;  receives 
love  because  it  is  exhaling  it.  It  forgets  its  sorrows  in  counting 
anew  its  blessings.  It  makes  life  truer,  higher  and  finer  for  self  by 
making  it  sunnier  for  others.     This  is — the  optimism  that  counts. 

(The  next  chapter  in  this  series,  "Power  of  Individual  Purpose," 
will  appear  in  the  February,  1911,  number  of  the  Era.) 


Elder  Don  C.  Smith  writes,  November  30, 
that  he  and  his  companion,  Elder  August  J. 
Johnson,  have  labored  in  New  York  City  for  the 
past  six  months,  holding  street  meetings  and 
visiting  friends.  The  cold  weather  has  put  a 
stop  to  these  meetings,  and  they  are  now  can- 
vassing from  house  to  house,  and  holding  cot- 
tage meetings  with  Saints  and  friends.  Much 
good  has  been  accomplished  in  the  street  meet- 
ings, and  through  them  much  literature  has 
gone  into  the  homes  of  people  who  otherwise 
could  not  have  been  reached.  The  accompanying 
portraits  are  those  of  Don  C.  Smith,  Snowflake, 
Arizona,  and  August   J.  Johnson,  Provo,  Utah. 


Pen  Pictures  of  the  Holy  Land, 

From  Dan  to  Beersheba. 


BY   HAMILTON  GARDNER. 


III. — Random  Strolls  in  the  Holy  City. 

Imagine  you  were  standing  with  me  on  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
looking  down  at  Jerusalem.  There,  spread  out  before  us,  lies  the 
Holy  City — the  abiding  place  of  prophets,  the  scene  of  the  world's 
greatest  tragedy,  the  first  home  of  the  Christian  Church.  To 
reach  this  goal,  millions  of  pilgrims — Jew,  Christian  and  Moham- 


JERUSALEM   FROM   THE   MOUNT   OF    OLIVES. 

Arrow  A  points  to  the  round-domed  Church  of  the  Sepulchre.  B  points 
to  the  Golden  Gate.  Letter  C  is  the  temple  area,  and  to  the  left  of  it 
is  the  Mosque  of  Omar.  Arrow  D  points  to  the  Gate  of  St.  Stephen. 
The  Kidron  Valley  extends  from  E  to  F. 


254  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

medan— have  striven  during  many  ages.  The  mere  thought 
of  this  city  in  infidel  hands  was  the  prime  reason  why  thousands 
of  fanatical  Crusaders  uselessly  sacrificed  their  lives.  Even  today 
great  numbers  of  people  suffer  indescribable  hardships  and  make 
heart-breaking  sacrifices  to  realize  their  heart's  ambition  in  a 
pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem.  So,  just  consider  first  what  an  import- 
ant part  the  Holy  City  has  played  and  is  playing  in  the  emotions 
and  lives  of  men. 

Let  me  give  you  a  warning  before  we  start  on  our  sight-see- 
ing. You  must  not  expect  to  find  Jerusalem  beautiful.  It  has 
been  under  Mohammedan  control  too  long  for  that.  Also,  you 
must  anticipate  no  pleasure  except  that  of  visiting  the  city's  his- 
torical and  religious  points  of  interest.  On  every  hand  you  will 
find  only  intense  fanaticism,  jealousy  and  bigotry,  Just  one  motive 
impels  men  to  come  to  Jerusalem — religion.  That  is  the  whole 
soul  and  life  of  the  place.  To  understand  in  the  least  some  of  the 
things  you  will  later  see,  it  is  imperative  that  you  keep  this  fact 
in  mind. 

The  population  of  Jerusalem  is  about  one  hundred  thousand. 
Of  this  number  about  sixty-five  thousand  are  Jews,  most  of  whom 
have  assembled  here  during  the  last  twenty  years.  This  is  a 
highly  significant  fact,  showing,  as  it  does,  that  the  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecies  in  regard  to  the  gathering  of  scattered  Judah 
are  being  fulfiled.  Besides  the  natives  of  the  country,  the  Holy 
City's  population  includes  representatives  from  almost  every 
Christian  nation,  our  own  among  the  rest.  I  was  fortunate  in 
staying  with  the  American  colony — about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Americans,  who  were  led  here  about  twenty-seven  years  ago  by 
a  man  named  Spafford,  from  Chicago.  These  people  live  in  a 
social  community,  their  system  much  resembling  what  the  Latter- 
day  Saints  call  the  United  Order.  They  are  seemingly  successful 
in  their  attempts  to  imitate  the  communion  of  the  first  Christians. 
Everything  appears  to  be  done  in  unity,  love  and  good-fellowship. 
President  Booth,  of  the  Turkish  mission,  who  accompanied  us  on 
most  of  our  trips  through  Pahstine,  and  whose  knowledge  of 
the  Bible  and  familiarity  with  the  country  proved  invaluable, 
introduced  Brother  Thomas  P.  Page  and  myself,  in  Jerusalem,  to  a 
Mr.  Rollo  Floyd,  the  last  member  of  a  colony  planted  in  the  Holy 


PEN  PICTURES  OF  THE  HOLY  LAND. 


255 


Land  forty-six  years  ago  by  one  of  the  factions  of  the  sect  founded 
by  David  Whitmer. 

Don't  forget  that  we  are  still  standing  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives.  We  occupy  the  same  position  that  Christ  did,  when,  after 
the  Last  Supper,  he  came  out  on  this  hill  with  his  disciples.  With 
the  temple  in  full  view,  just  across  the  Kidron  valley,  he  pre- 
dicted its  destruction,  and  enumerated  the  signs  of  his  second 
coming.     Here  we  get  an  admirable  view  of  the  east  part  of  the 


THE    DAMASCUS    GATE. 

city  wall,  with  the  gates  of  St.  Stephen — the  traditional  site  of  the 
stoning  of  that  martyr — and  the  now  walled  up  Golden  Gate, 
through  which  Christ  rode  in  triumph  into  the  city. 

But  let  us  go  down  into  the  city,  and  enjoy  a  stroll  through 
those  crooked  lanes  and  alleys,  which  in  Jerusalem  are  called 
streets.  Above  everything  else,  you  will  be  struck  by  the  cosmo- 
politan character  of  the  people.  This  is  easily  explained.  Jeru- 
salem is  not  only  a  Holy  City  to  the  Christians,  but  to  the  Jews 
and  Mohammedans  as  well.  Pilgrims  and  travelers,  representing 
these  three  great  religions,  are  present  from  almost  every  nation 
under  heaven.  Americans,  Copts,  Greeks,  Arabs  and  Europeans 
rub  elbows  with  Abyssinians,  Turks,  Armenians,  Syrians,  Jews  and 


256 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


Russians.     Each  brings  his  own  language  and  dress,  so  the  result 
is  a  confusion  which  only  the  Tower  of  Babel   could  rival. 

Let  us  follow,  for  a  short  time,  the  Via  Dolorosa,  or  Street 
of  Pain.  It  begins  at  the  Judgment  Hall,  where  Christ  was  ques- 
tioned by  Pilate,  scourged,  mocked,  and  finally  delivered  over  to 


his  death.  Cross 
at  this  point  is 
called  Ecce  Homo 
has  it,  that  be- 
would  not  enter 
came  out  on  this 
the  blood-thirsty 
exposed  to  their 
Christ  crowned 
arrayed  in  a  pur- 
Dolorosa  connects 
with  the  Church 
chre,  and  marks 
route  the  doomed 
way  to  Golgotha, 
tie  distance  by 
Latin  and  Greek 
stations  tradition- 
with  the  incidents 
ney.  Some  of 
been  worn  smooth 
devout  pilgrims. 
Jerusalem  is  the 
day  evening, 
and  fur  caps, 
wall,    and    participate  in 


ing  over  the  street 
part  of  the  so- 
Arch.  Tradition 
cause  the  Jews 
his  house,  Pilate 
arch,  talked  to 
mob  below,  and 
mocking  gaze, 
with  thorns  and 
pie  robe.  The  Via 
the  Judgment  Hall 
of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
the  supposed 
Jesus  took  on  his 
Marked  every  lit- 
stones  bearing 
inscriptions,  are 
ally  connected 
of  this  sad  jour- 
these  stones  have 
by  the  kisses  of 
One  of  the  most  interesting  places  in 
Wailing  Place  of  the  Jews.  Every  Fri- 
devout  Jews,  in  their  curious,  long  robes, 
assemble  at  a  certain  part  of  the  temple- 
a    most    curious    service.       Standing 


THE  VIA  DOLOROSA. 
Showing  the  Ecce  Homo  Arch. 


close  to  the  wall  and  swaying  slowly  backward  and  forward, 
they  bewail  the  departed  glory  of  their  nation, and  entreat  Jehovah 
to  speedily  gather  his  children  in  power  back  to  Jerusalem.  To  see 
those  aged  Jews, with  tears  streaming  down  their  cheeks, earnestly 
praying  God  to  "restore  again  Zion,"  is  a  most  touching  sight. 
To  feel  really  close  to  the  glory  of  old  Jerusalem,  a  visit  to 
the  Temple  Area  is  necessary.    The  site  of  Solomon's  temple  has 


PEN  PICTURES  OF  THE  HOLY  LAND.  257 

been  occupied  by  many  buildings.  The  temples  of  Nehemiah  and 
Herod,  a  pagan  temple  of  the  Romans,  and  the  Crusader's  church, 
have  all  been  erected  there,  and  now  a  Mohammedan  mosque  bears 
witness  of  the  changes  time  works.  While  nothing  is  left  of  old 
Jewish  days,  the  mere  fact  that  the  temple  of  God  once  stood 
here  makes  it  holy  ground.  It  is  said  no  Jew  will  enter  the  Tem- 
ple Area  for  fear  of  treading  on  the  Holy  of  Holies.  Over  a  big 
rock  on  the  highest  part  of  the  temple  enclosure  is  the  beautiful 
Mosque  of  Omar.  Moslems  believe  that  this  rock  is  the  scene  of 
Abraham's  interrupted  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  and  the  hoof-print  of 
Mohammed's  horse, 
as  he  sprang  into 
heaven,  is  also 
shown. 

Come  with  me 
now  out  into  theKid- 
ron  valley,  on  the 
east  of  the  city. 
Notice  the  great 
number  of  graves  by 
the  city  wall.  For 
every  grave-stone 
you  see,  probably  six 
or  seven  Mohammedans  lie  buried  below.  They  believe  the  last 
judgment  will  take  place  here,  and  they  desire  to  be  close  at 
hand.  A  thin  wire  will  be  stretched  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  to 
the  city  wall,  and  over  this  every  one  will  be  compelled  to  walk. 
The  righteous  will  be  borne  up  by  their  guardian  angels,  and  will 
pass  over  safely,  while  the  wicked  will  fall  into  perdition. 

Further  up  the  valley  we  come  to  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane, 
a  place  you  will  never  forget  after  once  visiting.  Outside  the 
entrance  are  shown  the  places  where  the  apostles  slept,  and  where 
Judas  gave  the  betraying  kiss — but  we  will  hasten  on  into  the 
garden.  Franciscan  monks  care  for  the  trees  and  bushes,  and  it 
is  indeed  a  beautiful  place.  The  surroundings  inspire  us,  and  we 
try  to  picture,  in  a  small  degree,  the  agony  which  Christ  suffered 
here.  "And  he  was  withdrawn  from  them  about  a  stone's  cast, and 
knelt  down  and  prayed,  saying,  Father,  if  thou  be  willing,  remove 


THE   WAILING  PLACE   OF  THE  JEWS. 


THE   MOSQUE   OF   OMAR. 

this  cup  from  me!  Nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  thine,  be 
done And  being  in  an  agony,  he  prayed  more  earn- 
estly; and  his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood  falling 
down  to  the  ground." 


THE   GARDEN   OF    GETHSEMANE 


("Easter  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre"  is  the  title  of  the 
next  article  in  this  series,  to  be  continued  in  the  February  Era.) 


University  of  Utah. 


Joseph  Smith,  a  Prophet  of  God. 

BY  ELDER  GEORGE  W.  CROCKWELL. 


III. 

Next  let  me  present  for  consideration  a  revelation  given 
December  25,  1832,  called  the  revelation  on  war.  You  will  find  it 
in  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  section  87.  Take  the  revelation  up 
a  verse  at  a  time,  and  consider  the  verses  separately: 

Verse  1.  Verily,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  concerning  the  wars  that  will 
shortly  come  to  pass,  beginning  at  the  rebellion  of  South  Carolina,  which 
will  eventually  terminate  in  the  death  and  misery  of  many  souls. 

You  will  note  there  is  no  equivocation,  but  a  bold  assertion: 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  concerning  the  wars  that  will  shortly  come 
to  pass."  You  will  also  please  take  notice  that  the  Lord  uses  the 
word  wars  in  the  plural — meaning  more  than  one:  that  these  wars 
will  start  at  South  Carolina — that  is,  the  war  starting  there  will 
be  the  first,  and  others  are  to  follow.  There  is  no  claim  that  the 
wars  which  are  to  follow  will  be  in  consequence  of  that  first  war, 
nor  will  they  be  a  continuance  of  that  war.  I  shall  take  this 
question  up  more  fully  later  on. 

Did  the  first  war,  or  rebellion,  start  at  South  Carolina?  If  so, 
that  part  was  literally  fulfiled.  History  states  that  on  April  12, 
1861, some  twenty-nine  years  after  the  date  the  revelation  was  given, 
South  Carolina  rebels  led  against  the  north  part  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  General  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard  opened  fire, and  gave 
a  heavy  bombardment  to  Fort  Sumter. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  one  of  the  most  fratricidal  wars  in 
the   world's   history.     Father   fought  against  son,    and   brother 


260  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

against  brother,  and  it  did  terminate  in  the  death  and  misery  of 
many  souls.  Let  the  figures  of  history  show  that  the  civil  war 
terminated  in  the  death  and  misery  of  many  souls  as  foretold  by 
the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith: 

The  whole  number  of  men  called  in  the  Union  service  was  over  two 
million  six  hundred  ninety  thousand  men,  of  whom  one  million  four  hun- 
dred thousand  were  in  actual  service.  Nearly  sixty  thousand  were  killed 
in  battle,  and  about  thirty-five  thousand  were  mortally  wounded,  one 
hundred  eighty-four  thousand  died  of  disease  in  camps  and  hospitals. 
Thus  about  three  hundred  thousand  perished  on  the  Union  side  and  about 
the  same  number  of  the  Confederates  perished,  making  a  total  loss  of  six 
hundred  thousand  to  the  nation. — Library  of  Universal  History,  Vol.  7, 
page  2921. 

Thus  was  the  prophecy  in  regard  to  the  death  of  many  souls 
literally  fulfiled;  as  to  the  misery  of  many  souls,  in  addition  to  the 
grief  for  loved  ones,  and  the  misery  of  those  who  died  from  dis- 
ease in  camps,  etc.,  as  given  above,  I  will  give  further  figures 
from  history: 

About  four  hundred  thousand  were  crippled  or  disabled  for  life,  on 
both  sides.  The  records  of  the  war  department  show  that  two  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  Confederates  were  made  prisoners  during  the  war, 
of  whom  nearly  twenty-six  thousand  died  of  wounds  or  disease  during 
captivity,  while  of  one  hundred  twenty-six  thousand  Union  soldiers  cap- 
tured, nearly  twenty-three  thousand  died  while  prisoners.  It  is  estim- 
ated that  the  whole  number  of  Union  captives  [was  one  hundred  and 
ninety-six  thousand,  of  whom  forty-one  thousand  died  in  captivity. 

With  the  above  figures  before  him,  no  person  will  deny  that 
the  war  did  terminate  in  the  death  and  misery  of  many  souls. 

Verse  2,  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  87,  reads:  "The 
days  will  come  that  war  will  be  poured  out  on  all  nations,  begin- 
ning at  that  place."  (South  Carolina.) 

Now  the  question  is,  who  is  going  to  cause  this  war  to  be 
poured  out  on  all  nations?  Not  man;  the  revelation  reads:  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  it  is  He  that  will  do  it."  And  he  does  not  say 
that  this  war  that  is  to  be  poured  out  on  all  nations  is  a  continu- 
ance of  the  Civil  war,  nor  in  consequence  of  it,  but  that  war  will 
be  poured  out  on  all  nations,  and  the  war  starting  at  South  Caro- 


JOSEPH  SMITH,  A  PROPHET  OF  GOD.  261 

Una  will  be  the  first  or  beginning  of  the  war  that  is  to  be  poured 
out  on  all  nations.  How  has  this  been  fulfiled?  Let  us  turn  to 
history  and  see  if  war  has  been  poured  out  on  all  nations,  begin- 
ning at  South  Carolina: 

A  D.   1861: 

Rebellion,  or  Civil  War,  in  the  U.  S. 

Franco-Mexican  war,  in  which  the  Spanish,  French  and  British  in- 
vaded Mexico. 

Mexico  was  the  scene  of  almost  continued  civil  war  until  1876. 

1862: 

Greek  revolution. 

Polish  insurrection  against  Russian  Authority. 

Mohammedan  rebellion  in  China. 

Garibaldi,  determined  on  the  forcible  annexation  of  Rome  to  the 
Italian  kingdom,  with  a  force  of  volunteers  raised  in  Sicily,  defeated  an 
Italian  force  at  Reggis. 

1864: 

Civil  war  in  Japan. 

The  Schk-swig-Holstein  war,  in  which  Denmark,  Austria,  Prussia, 
and  the  German  powers  were  involved. 

War  between  Japan  and  Peru. 

Republics  of  Laplata,  Brazil,  Uruguay,  and  Argentine  were  at  war 
against  Paraguay. 

Soongaria  gained  its  independence  from  China. 

During  the  civil  war  in  Japan  the  Mikado's  troops  fired  upon  the 
ships  of  England,  France,  Holland  and  the  United  States.  These  powers 
compelled  her  to  pay  an  indemnity  of  three  million  dollars. 

War  broke  out  between  Spain  &nd  Peru.  Chili  joined  Peru  in  this 
war. 

The  gigantic  rebellion  of  Tac-ping  Wong,  China,  was  suppressed 
after  much  bloodshed. 

1865: 

Chili  joined  Peru  in  the  war  with  Japan. 

In  war  with  the  Kahn  of  Bokham,  the  Russians  seized  Tashkend  this 
year  and  Khojend  the  year  following. 

1866: 

Venezuela,  Ecuador  and  Bolivia  concluded  an  alliance  with  Peru  in 
the  war  with  Spain. 


262  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Revolt  in  the  Island  of  Crete  against  the  Turks. 

Prussia  formed  an  alliance  with  Italy  and  conjointly  declared  war 
against  Austria.     This  is  known  as  the  seven  weeks  war. 

Prussia  also  concluded  treaties  of  peace  with  Bavaria,  Wurtemburg, 
Baden,  Hesse,  Saxony  and  Darmstadt  the  same  year. 

1868: 

Revolution  in  Spain  in  which  the  army  rebelled. 

Insurrectien  in  Cuba  against  Spanish  authority. 

Spain  had  many  insurrections  during  this  and  for  several  years  fol- 
lowing, caused  by  the  dissolute  and  tyrannical  conduct  of  Queen  Isabella. 

1868  to  1878. 

Ten  years  of  war  in  Cuba  which  was  closed  by  compromise. 

1869: 

Carlists  broke  out  in  an  insurrection  in  the  northeast  part  of  Spain. 
It  was  promptly  suppressed  by  Government  troops. 

1870. 

The  French  and  Chinese  have  a  battle  at  Tientsin. 

France  declared  war  against  Prussia.  All  the  German  states  rallied 
to  the  aid  of  Prussia.  This  was  called  the  Franco-German  war. 

1871: 

No  sooner  was  a  preliminary  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and 
Germany  ratified,  than  France  became  involved  in  a  bloody  civil  war. 

China  and  Prussia  were  at  war. 
1872: 

The  Carlists  broke  "nit  in  insurrection  in  the  north  of  Spain. 

1873  to  1875. 

Spain  was  aim  continually  the  scene  of  war  between  the  Carlists 
and  the  government 

Holland  became  involved  in  a  war  with  the  Achinese  of  the  Island  of 
Sumatra,  in  1873. 

There  was  war  between  Russia  and  Khiva. 

In  the  fall  of  1873  the  Russians  defeated  the  Turkomans. 

The  Mohammedan  rebellion  in  the  southwest  province  of  Younan, 
China,  was  quelled.  The  Sultan  poisoned  himself  rather  than  be  taken 
prisoner. 

(to  be  continued.) 

Portland.  Oregon. 


The  Worth  of  a  Boy. 

BY   DAVID   D.    RUST. 


[In  the  October  namber  of  the  Improvement  Era,  $20  was  offered  for  the 
best  answer  to  some  questions  propounded  by  Bishop  Roscoe  W.  Eardley, 
of  the  Liberty  Stake  of  Zion,  on  "What  is  a  Boy  Worth?"  Thirty-one  papers 
were  received,  and  a  competent  committee  has  awarded  the  prize  to  the 
author  of  the  one  herewith  presented,  who  is  not  unknown  to  our  readers* 
having  heretofore  contributed  several  descriptive  articles  for  the  Era. 
As  it  was  understood  that  the  Era  was  to  own  all  the  manuscripts,  a  num- 
ber of  the  best  remaining  ones  will  later  appear  in  our  magazine.  We 
take  this  occasion  to  thank  our  contributors  for  their  meritorious 
and  really  inspiring  responses  to  our  request,  and  to  express  regret  that 
we  cannot  award  a  prize  to  each  of  them. — Editors.] 

It  is  difficult  indeed  to  attempt  to  mark  the  value  of  any 
boy.  There  is  no  crucible  test,  no  system  of  weights  or  measures, 
no  process  of  chemistry,  no  touchstone  or  mystic  readings  of 
astrology,  by  which  we  may  arrive  at  the  intrinsic  worth  of  a  boy. 
Select  a  couple  of  examples— say  Jackson  and  Lincoln.  Would  you 
judge  them  exceptional  values,  at  fourteen?  Boys  tagged 
"inferior,"  frequently  turn  out  to  be  of  the  best  material;  while 
those  marked  away  up  are  often  mere  imitations.  We  cannot  tell, 
any  more  than  McKinley's  mother  could  tell,  which  will  make 
good  governors  or  presidents. 

In  his  Care  and  Culture  of  Men,  David  Starr  Jordan  says  that 
you  cannot  tack  a  thousand  dollar  education  on  a  fifty  cent  boy. 
It  is  evident  that  the  hypothesis  of  this  assertion  is  that  boys 
range  in  value  anywhere  from  fifty  cents  to  a  thousand  dollars.  As 
a  matter  of  relative  worth,  I  suppose  that  expresses  enough  differ- 
ence between  the  cheapest  and  choicest,  so  that  we  may  think  of 
it  as  a  premise  in  the  following  discussion. 

The  boy  we  are  considering  here — and  it  seems  a  perfectly 
scientific  arrangement — is  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years  of 


264  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

age.  Before  this  period  he  is  usually  designated  as  a  child;  sub- 
sequently he  is — or  at  least  ought  to  be — a  man. 

Certain  characteristics  accompany  the  thousand  dollar  boy. 
He  carries  a  share  of  the  home  responsibilities,  uses  spare  time 
wisely,  is  a  student,  and  is  learning  the  proper  use  of  coal-oil. 
"When  he  plays,  he  plays  hard;  and  when  he  works  he  doesn't 
play  at  all."  He  is  willing  to  pay  value  received — does  not  expect 
something  for  nothing,  does  not  follow  that  pickpocket  creed  which 
claims  that  the  world  owes  every  man  a  living.  He  would  rather 
deserve  to  win,  than  to  win.  He  has  more  concern  for  his  honesty 
than  for  the  result  of  a  school  examination. 

The  fiftv  cent  variety  is  the  occasion  of  a  good  deal  of  super- 
fluous legislation.  It  is  for  him  that  we  have  to  employ  a  special 
police  force  on  Christmas  Eve  and  Hallowe'en.  The  anxiety  of  a 
widowed  mother,  the  trial  of  the  ward  authorities,  the  nuisance  cf 
the  town  officials,  he  drifts  recklessly  down  through  juvenile 
courts  and  reform  schools  to  the  penitentiary.  A  pretty  expensive 
proposition! 

A  curious  rule:  the  less  they  are  worth,  the  more  they  cost. 
When  we  notice  the  percentage  of  young  men  who  go  pell-mell 
down  the  road  of  broken  hearts,  we  are  almost  justified  in  skepti- 
cism. Does  it  pay  to  raise  them?  And  we  are  logical  in  the  con- 
clusion that  it  is  not  more  men  that  the  country  needs,  but  a  better 
brand. 

"Boys  will  be  boys,"  they  say.  It  is  entirely  proper  that 
they  be  boys,  so  long  as  they  do  not  become  that  kind  which  bars 
them  from  becoming  men.  Shoddy  boys  make  shoddy  grownups, 
"hoodoos"  become  "hobos." 

You  cannot  tell  the  high-priced  boy  by  the  color  of  his  eyes, 
the  cut  of  his  nose,  or  his  height  or  his  heft.  He  may  be  tall  or 
short,  frail  or  husky,  light  or  heavy — avoirdupois  does  not  count. 
Someone  asked  Lincoln  how  long  the  legs  of  an  ideal  soldier  should 
be.  He  replied  at  once,  "Just  long  enough  to  reach  from  hiships 
to  the  ground."  The  physique,  of  course,  is  of  importance,  but  in 
searching  for  the  things  worth  while  we  must  look  into  the 
character. 

Boys  are  the  raw  material.  What  can  we  do  to  make  the 
most  of  their  possibilities?      Since  there  is  no  such  thing  as  man- 


THE  WORTH  OF  A  BOY.  265 

hood-mills,  that  will  take  them  in  and  turn  them  out  men,  it  must 
be  accomplished  by  painstaking  development,  chiefly  under  their 
own  direction.  Every  boy  has  the  choosing  of  what  he  shall  be; 
we  can  only  help  him  to  help  himself. 

We  may  coax,  persuade  and  reason;  we  may  preach  and  scold 
and  threaten ;  we  may  pet  or  lead  or  drive ;  we  may  cuff  or  kick  or 
censure — most  of  which  are  likely  to  be  ineffective  in  bringing  out 
the  most  precious  values  of  a  boy.  The  surest  general  rule, 
perhaps,  that  can  be  put  down  is:  so  shape  his  opportunities  and 
environments  that  he  may  develop  into  his  afterself ,  the  man  he 
might  become,  the  best  there  is  in  him. 

Put  him  next  to  good  schools  and  good  associates;  help  him 
to  select  wholesome,  tasteful  literature — for,  as  Dr.  J.  M.  Tanner 
puts  it,  "Good  literature  in  the  home  will  solve  the  'hoodlum' 
problem."  Teach  him  to  keep  his  birthright,  show  him  the  strengh 
there  is  in  cleanliness,  and  fix  everlastingly  among  his  working 
principles  Owen  Wister's  terrible  maxim,  "Death  is  cleaner  than 
vice." 

Confide  in  him.  Make  him  partner  in  affairs,  and  if  you  give 
him  a  piece  of  land  or  a  horse,  do  not  forget  about  it  and  confis- 
cate it  again  for  your  own  use.  Let  him  do  the  things  he  likes  to 
do,  but  teach  him  to  like  the  best.  Let  him  soar  on  the  biplanes 
of  fancy,  and  curtail  your  ridicule  if  he  tells  stories  to  himself.  If 
his  home  is  in  the  country,  let  him  visit  the  city;  if  he  lives  in  the 
city,  give  him  a  taste  of  the  country — try  to  give  him  a  surfeit  of 
neither. 

Teach  him  to  live  unselfishly;  he  cannot  live  this  life  alone,  it 
is  somebody's  business  what  he  does.  "We  all  of  us  tend  to  rise 
or  fall  together.  If  any  set  of  us  goes  down,  the  whole  nation 
sags  a  little."  Show  him  the  necessity  of  a  righteous  life.  Pray 
with'him,  pray  for  him,  teach  him  to  pray,  and  that  in  deepest 
reverence.     Sincerity  will  cover  a  multitude  of  imperfections. 

That  boy  of  mine!  What  is  he  worth  to  me?  What  hopes  I 
have  for  him!  What  would  I  not  do  to  make  the  most  of  his  future! 
In  him  I  shall  live  again.  To  the  teacher  or  neighbor  who  will 
assist  me  in  keeping  his  face  towards  the  light,  I  shall  have 
eternal  gratitude 

Kanab    Utah. 


Editor's  Table. 


Baptism. 

An  elder  in  one  of  the  stakes  writes  that  he  differs  in  some 
things  with  some  of  his  brethren  concerning  the  proper  prepara- 
tion of  candidates  for  baptism.  He  thinks  there  is  negligence  on 
the  part  of  officers  in  that  they  fail  to  give  proper  instructions,  and 
demand  required  promises  from  candidates  for  baptism.  They 
are  sometimes  baptized  without  being  questioned,  and  without 
having  promises  exacted  from  them  to  serve  the  Lord. 

We  hear  much  about  the  necessity  and  mode  of  baptism 
(Matt.  3:  13-15;  Doc.  and  Cov.  20:  73,  74)  and  about  the  fallacy  of 
infant  baptism,  but  seldom  anything  relating  to  the  faith,  desire, 
worthiness  and  willingness  that  should  characterize  the  candidates 
for  baptism,  nor  of  the  requirements  to  serve  the  Lord  that 
should  be  made  before  the  holy  ordinance  is  administered  unto 
them.     He  wishes  these  points  discussed. 

The  scriptures  are  very  plain  on  these  subjects.  No  person 
can  be  properly  baptized  unless  he  has  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  has  repented  of  his  sins,  with  a  repentance  that  need 
not  be  repented  of.  But  faith  comes  by  hearing  the  word  of 
God.  This  implies  that  the  candidate  must  be  taught.  Efficient 
teaching  and  preparation  must  precede  the  ordinance,  so  that  the 
candidate  may  have  a  proper  appreciation  and  conception  of  its 
purposes.  The  call  to  baptism,  in  the  mission  of  our  Savior,  was 
always  preceded  by  instructions  in  the  doctrines  which  h3  taught. 
His  injunctions  to  his  disciples  always  tended  in  this  direction: 
"Go  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature"  (Mark  16:  15).  "He  that 
believeth,    and    is    baptized,    shall     be     saved"      (16).       "Go 


EDITOR'S  TABLE.  267 

teach  all  nations, baptizing  them"  (Matt.  28:  19), were  his  words  to 
his  disciples. 

The  forerunner  of  the  Savior  was  also  careful  to  baptize  only 
those  who  were  prepared,  and  therefore  properly  taught;  for  when 
the  people,  who  were  without  faith  and  determination  to  live 
righteously  came  to  John  the  Baptist  to  be  baptized  of  him,  he 
called  them  a  generation  of  vipers,  and  asked  who  had  warned 
them  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  Then  he  taught  them  to  live 
righetous  lives,  and  exclaimed,  "Bring  forth,  therefore,  fruits 
worthy  of  repentance"  (Luke  3:  7,  8). 

So  in  the  Apostolic  age,  Peter  taught  the  people  the  gospel, 
showing  them  that  Jesus,  whom  they  had  crucified,  God  had  made 
both  Lord  and  Christ,  and  when  they  had  become  interested  unto 
faith  and  repentance,  he  declared  unto  them  baptism  as  a  means  of 
escaping  from  their  sins. 

This  exercise  of  faith  and  the  working  of  repentance,  as  a 
preparation  for  baptism,  is  specifically  made  plain  in  modern 
revelation  as  a  requirement  of  the  candidate,  and,  of  course, 
these  doctrines  cannot  be  understood  unless  they  are  properly 
taught  (Doc.  and  Cov.  20:  37,  71;  68:  25-28). 

Missionaries  should  exercise  care  before  administering  this 
ordinance.  A  case  came  up  recently,  illustrating  the  need  of 
proper  teaching,  in  which  a  person  had  been  baptized  possessing 
no  knowledge  at  all  of  the  Church  into  which  he  thereby  had 
gained  membership.  When  he  later  learned  that  it  was  the  Church 
founded  by  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and  that  authority  to  bap- 
tize had  come  through  him,  he  demanded  a  release  from  his  obliga- 
tion.    He  had  not  been  taught  right. 

These  scripture  citations,  aside  from  one's  own  common  sense 
and  reason,  are  sufficient  proof  that  people  must  be  taught  before 
they  are  fit  candidates  for  baptism.  Now,  what  shall  they  be 
taught?  Why,  faith  in  God,  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  Holy 
Ghost;  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  in  the  ordinances  and 
principles  of  the  gospel  which  Jesus  taught;  faith  in  the  restora- 
tion of  this  gospel  and  all  its  powers,  to  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith; 
faith  in  the  Church  which  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing;  faith 
in  the  priesthood,  as  authorized  servants  of  the  living  God;  faith  in 


268  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

the  revelations  received  in  modern  times;  faith  in  the  performance 
of  the  works  required  of  a  Latter-day  Saint;  faith  in  the  principle  of 
tithing,  and  in  all  other  requirements,  temporal  and  spiritual, 
mentioned  in  the  law  of  God;  and,  finally,  faith  to  live  lives  of 
righteousness  before  the  Lord. 

Before  performing  a  baptism,  it  should  be  known  to  those 
who  officiate,  and,  in  fact,  to  the  Church,  that  the  candidate  for 
baptism  is  willing  to  conform  to  all  these  things.  Further,  that 
he  is  willing  to  take  upon  himself  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ;  to 
speak  the  truth  in  soberness;  that  he  has  determined  to  serve  God 
to  the  end,  and  that  he  is  willing  to  manifest  by  his  works  that 
he  has  received  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  unto  the  remission  of  his 
sins.  And,  again,  it  should  be  known  that  the  candidate  is  firm 
in  the  testimony  that  Joseph  Smith  is  a  prophet  of  God,  and  that 
the  Church  founded  by  him  is  indeed  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ; 
that  he  understands  and  believes  the  law  of  tithing,  and  is  willing 
to  abide  by  the  covenants  he  is  about  to  make  before  the  Lord, 
in  the  waters  of  baptism,  and  to  walk  uprightly  before  him  (Doc. 
and  Cov.  20:  37;  Moroni  6:  1-3). 

It  is  true  that  some  of  the  elders  become  negligent  in  requir- 
ing a  promise  and  a  covenant  to  this  effect  from  all  whom  they 
lead  into  the  waters  of  baptism.  They  sometimes  baptize  without 
questions  or  instructions,  taking  it  for  granted  that  candidates 
have  been  thoroughly  taught,  and  that  they  mentallv  covenant 
with  God  in  all  these  things,  without  words.  It  would  be  well  for 
presidents  of  stakes  and  bishops,  presidents  of  missions  and  mis- 
sion conferences,  and  elders  in  mission  fields  everywhere,  to  look 
into  this  matter,  and  require  a  more  strict  observance  of  the  word 
of  the  Lord  on  this  subject  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  chosen 
to  officiate  at  baptisms. 

The  better  plan  is  to  follow  the  instructions  of  the  Lord 
strictly  in  this  regard,  and  perform  the  ordinance  according 
to  the  words  which  are  written  (Doc.  and  Cov.  18:  21-25,  30;  20: 
37,  72,  73).  It  is  necessary  to  question  the  candidate  as 
to  his  belief  and  feelings,  and  to  have  him  signify  by  words,  and 
the  uplifted  hand,  that  he  has  truly  repented  of  his  sins,  and  is 
willing  to  keep  the  commandments,  and  take  upon  himself  the 
name  of  Christ  and  all  the  obligations  that  are  implied  in  this  holy 


EDITOR'S  TABLE.  269 

covenant  between  him  and  his  God.      This  applies  also  to  children 
who  have  arrived  at  the  years  or  accountability. 

Joseph  F.  Smith. 


Wrong  Again— and  "There's  a  Reason." 

Frank  J.  Cannon,  the  erratic  ex-senator  of  Utah,  is  writ- 
ing a  series  of  articles  against  the  authorities  of  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  the  first  of  which  appeared  in 
the  December  number  of  Everybody's  Magazine. 

His  purpose  is  not  new,  at  all,  because  he  says: 

I  propose,  in  this  narrative,  to  show  that  the  leaders  of  the 
"Mormon"  Church  have  broken  their  covenant  with  the  nation;  that  they 
have   abused   the   confidence  of  the  Gentiles  of  Utah,  and  betrayed  the 

trust  of  the  people  under  their  power I  undertake,  in  fact, 

in  this  narrative  to  expose  and  to  demonstrate  what  I  do  believa  to  be 
one  of  the  most  direful  conspiracies  of  treachery  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States. 

Following  this  vicious  and  false  thrust  against  the  authori- 
ties, he  pens  a  glowing  tribute  to  the  "Mormon"  people 
themselves: 

Not  that  I  have  anything  in  my  heart  against  the  "Mormon"  peo- 
ple! Heaven  forbid!  I  know  them  to  be  great  in  their  virtues,  whole- 
some in  their  relations,  A  capable  of  heroic  fortitude,  living  by  the  ten- 
derest  sentiments  of  fraternity,  as  gentle  as  the  Quakers,  as  staunch  as 
the  Jews.  I  think  of  them  as  a  man  among  strangers  thinks  of  the  dear- 
ness  of  his  home.  I  am  bound  to  them  in  affection,  by  all  the  ties  of 
life.  The  smiles  of  neighborliness,  the  greetings  of  friends,  all  the  famil- 
iar devotion  of  brothers  and  sisters,  the  love  of  the  parents  who  held  me 
in  their  arms — by  these,  I  know  them  as  my  own  people,  and  by  these 
I  love  them  as  a  good  people,  as  a  strong  people,  as  a  people  worthy  to 
be  strong  and  fit  to  be  loved. 

It  is  surpassing  strange  that  the  leaders,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  history  of  such  a  good  people,  should  have  been  such  bad, 
wicked  men;  and  particularly,  that  the  present  leaders  should  be 
worse  than  all  the  rest.  It  is  the  old  reason  for  attacks 
upon  the  Saints,  prevailing  from  the  beginning;  the  people 
have  always  been  good,  but  they  have  always  been  misled  by 
their  wicked  leaders. 


270  IMPRO  VEMENT  ERA . 

Joseph  the  Prophet  and  his  Brother  Hyrum  were  martyred; 
Brigham  Young  was  persecuted,  misrepresented,  anathematized, 
imprisoned;  John  Taylor  was  exiled,  while  his  brethren  suffered 
imprisonment  and  untold  humiliation;  Wilford  Woodruff  was  driven 
into  hiding,  and  suffered  inestimable  agony  because  of  the  perse- 
cutions directed  against  him  and  his  people;  Lorenzo  Snow  did  not 
escape  the  cursing  of  his  opponents  of  the  type  of  the  ex-senator; 
and  Joseph  F.  Smith  has  been  cartooned,  libeled,  held  up  to  ridi- 
cule, lied  about,  misrepresented,  from  the  time  he  entered  the 
position;  and  now  the  ex-senator  has  begun  to  add  his  little  mite 
to  show  that  the  present  leader  and  his  associates  are  traitors, 
traducers,  covenant-breakers,  and  every  other  mean  thing  that  can 
be  conjured  up  against  them. 

It  seems  very  strange  that  so  good  a  people  should  remain 
good  under  such  leaders,  for,  "as  with  the  priests  so  with  the 
people."  If  the  truth  be  spoken  about  the  people,  and  we  believe 
he  told  the  truth  of  them,  the  natural  conclusion  is  that  what  is 
said  of  the  leaders  is  not  true.  He  may  say,  however,  that  the 
people  are  simple,  uneducated,  unsophisticated  and  easily  misled; 
but  with  their  missionary  world-experience,  they  are  not  simple; 
with  their  facilities  for  education,  they  are  not  ignorant  and 
deluded;  and  with  their  sterling  views  of  right  and  wrong,  they  are 
not  easily  misled.  We  conclude  that  what  is  said  about  the 
leaders  of  the  Church  is  false,  and  that  instead  of  being  traitors, 
conspirators,  traducers,  disloyal  to  their  country,  as  charged  from 
the  beginning  of  the  organization  of  the  Church  to  the  present 
time,  they  have  ever  cast  their  mighty  influence  with  the  forces 
which  make  their  people  strong,  loyal,  free,  worthy  and  "fit  to  be 
loved."  The  ex-senator  is  wrong  again,  and  "there's  a  reason;" 
besides,  there  is  cause  for  suspicion  that  he  himself  is  the 
traitor  and  all  else  with  which  he  falsely  charges  the  authorities 
of  the  Church. 


The  Two  Roads. 


Jean  Paul  Richter,  the  great  German  writer,  tells  this  New 
Year's  tale: 

It  was  New  year's  night.     An  aged  man  was  standing  at  a 


EDITOR'S  TABLE.  271 

window.  He  mournfully  raised  his  eyes  toward  the  deep,  blue 
sky,  where  the  stars  were  flashing:  like  white  lilies  on  the  surface 
of  a  clear,  cold  lake.  Then  he  cast  them  on  the  earth,  where  few 
more  helpless  beings  than  himself  were  moving  towards  their 
inevitable  goal— the  tomb.  Already  he  had  passed  sixty  of  the 
stages  which  lead  to  it,  and  he  had  brought  from  his  journey  noth- 
ing but  errors  and  remorse.  His  health  was  destroyed,  his  mind 
unfurnished,  his  heart  sorrowful. and  his  old  age  devoid  of  comfort. 
The  days  of  his  youth  rose  up  in  a  vision  before  him,  and  he 
recalled  the  solemn  moment  when  his  father  had  placed  him  at  the 
entrance  of  two  roads,  one  leading  into  a  peaceful,  sunny  land, 
covered  with  a  fertile  harvest,  and  resounding  with  soft,  sweet 
songs;  while  the  other  conducted  the  wanderer  into  a  deep,  dark 
cave,  whence  there  was  no  issue,  where  poison  flowed  instead  of 
water,  and  where  serpents  hissed  and  crawled. 

He  looked  toward  the  sky,  and  cried  out  in  his  anguish:  "0 
youth  return!  0  my  father,  place  me  once  more  at  the  crossway 
of  life,  that  I  may  choose  the  better  road!"  But  the  days  of  his 
youth  had  passed  away,  and  his  parents  were  with  the  departed. 
He  saw  wandering  lights  float  over  dark  marshes,  and  then  disap- 
pear. "Such,"  he  cried,  "were  the  days  of  my  wasted  life!"  He 
saw  a  star  shoot  from  heaven  and  vanish  in  darkness  athwart  the 
churchyard.  "Behold  an  emblem  of  myself!"  he  exclaimed;  and 
the  sharp  arrows  of  unavailing  remorse,  struck  him  to  the  heart. 

Then  he  remembered  his  early  companions,  who  had  entered 
life  with  him,  but  who,  having  trod  the  paths  of  virtue  and  indus- 
try, were  now  happy  and  honored  on  this  New  Year's  night.  The 
clock  in  the  high  church-tower  struck,  and  the  sound,  falling  on 
his  ear,  recalled  the  many  tokens  of  the  love  of  his  parents  for 
him,  their  erring  son;  the  lessons  they  had  taught  him;  the  pray- 
ers they  had  offered  in  his  behalf.  Overwhemled  with  shame  and 
grief,  he  dared  no  longer  look  toward  that  heaven  where  they 
dwelt.  His  darkened  eyes  dropped  tears,  and,  with  one  despairing 
effort,  he  cried  aloud,   "Come  back,  my  early  days,  come  back!" 

And  his  youth  did  return;  for  all  this  had  been  but  a  dream, 
visiting  his  slumbers  on  New  Year's  night.  He  was  still  young; 
his  errors  only  were  no  dream.  He  thanked  God  fervently  that 
time  was  still  his  own;  that  he  had  not  yet  entered  the  deep,  dark 


272 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 


cavern,  but  that  he  was  free  to  tread  the  road  leading  to  the 
peaceful  land  where  sunny  harvests  wave.  Ye  who  still  linger  on 
the  threshhold  of  life,  doubting  which  path  to  choose,  remember 
that  when  years  shall  be  passed,  and  your  feet  shall  stumble  on  the 
dark  mountain,  you  will  cry  bitterly,  but  cry  in  vain,  "0  youth, 
return!     Oh,  give  me  back  my  early  days!" 


Messages  from  the  Missions. 


Elder  Clarence   Duffin,    writing  from    Charleston,  West   Virginia, 
November  11,  says:    "The  missionary  work  in  the  southwest  Virginia 


SOUTHWEST    VIRGINIA   CONFERENCE   ELDERS. 

From  left  to  right,  back  row:  William  Bringhurst,  Springville,  Utah; 
Azer  Briggs,  Magrath,  Alberta,  Canada;  Mark  Cook,  Vernal,  Utah. 
Second  row:  J.  M.  Henderson,  Teton  City,  Idaho;  Warden  Jones,  Menan, 
Idaho;  Smith  Ackroyd,  Magrath,  Alberta,  Canada;  George  H,  Hale, 
Afton,  Wyoming.  Bottom  row:  P.  W.  Johnson,  Byron,  Wyoming; 
George  J.  Webb,  St.  George,  Utah;  Clarence  Duffin,  Provo,  Utah.  (Con- 
ference President);  Parley  W.  Christensen,  Tremonton,  Utah. 


EDITOR'S  TABLE.  273 

conference  is  prosecuted  with  vigor  and  attended  with  unusual  success- 
Popular  prejudice  is  rapidly  crumbling,  and  a  spirit  of  toleration  is  tak- 
ing its  place.  In  some  places  we  are  accorded  the  utmost  courtesy.  Our 
needs  are  abundantly  administered  to,  and  schoolhouses  once  closed 
against  us  are  now  open  to  our  use.  Many  people  are  anxiously  search- 
ing for  the  truth,  and  truly  our  labors  are  not  in  vain.  During  the  past 
ten  months,  with  an  average  of  18  elders,  we  have  held  793  meetings, 
sold  2,246  small  books,  and  distributed  26,000  tracts;  visited  16,234  new 
families,  revisited  4,336  families,  and  spent  5,290  hours  tracting;  held 
13,161  gospel  conversations,  and  spent  12,000  hours  in  study;  blessed  38 
children  and  baptized  87  people.  The  outlook  was  nevermore  propitious. 
The  activity  of  the  elders  in  counseling  observance  of  the  Word  of  Wis- 
dom and  to  pay  tithes,  has  met  with  encouragement.  Not  a  few  have 
discontinued  the  use  of  tobacco,  tea  and  coffee,  and  some  of  these  are 
over  70  years  of  age,  and  have  indulged  in  these  habits  since  childhood, 
but  now  bear  testimony  that  the  blessings  promised  through  our  beloved 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith  follow  obedience." 

Elder  John  Halversen,  clerk  of  the  Christiania  Conference,  Norway, 
writes,  October  26,  giving  an  account  of  a  conference  held  on  the  15th, 
16th  and  17th  of  October.  He  sends  a  picture  of  the  elders  of  that  con- 
ference. "Each  of  the  Sunday  school  superintendents  reported  his 
school  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Many  non-members  send  their  chil- 
dren to  our  Sunday  schools,  and  in  some  instances  the  percentage  of 
Saints  and  strangers  is  nearly  equal.  President  Peter  C.  Rasmussen 
gave  a  general  report  of  the  ten  branches  comprising  the  Christiania 
conference,  showing  the  work  to  be  in  very  good  condition.  At  the 
Sunday  evening  session  (16th)  of  the  conference  fully  700  people  were 
present.  Many  had  to  stand  during  the  meeting,  which  lasted  two  and 
one-half  hours.  President  Andrew  Jenson,  of  the  Scandinavian  Mission, 
spoke  on  historical  and  gospel  subjects  for  nearly  two  hours,  holding  k 
strict  attention  of  the  audience.  During  his  present  mission  he  hau 
visited  Norway  eight  times,  and  he  said  he  had  learned  to  greatly  love 
the  Norwegian  Saints.  During  the  entire  conference  week  the 
Christiania  branch  Relief  Society  prepared  and  served  meals  to  all  the 
elders  free  of  charge,  for  which  the  elders  are  very  thankful.  On 
October  18,  President  Jenson  gave  an  illustrated  lecture  on  Utah  and  her 
People,  before  an  audience  of  about  seven  hundred  people,  mostly  non- 
members  of  the  Church,  who  enjoyed  it  immersely.  The  conference  was 
altogether  a  success  and  the  missionaries  feel  much  encouraged  in 
their  labors. 


Priesthood  Quorums'  Table. . 


Permanent  Records  for  Quorums  of  the  High  Priest- 
hood.— The  General  Priesthood  Committee  has  in  consideration  a  per- 
manent record  for  quorums  of  the  High  Priesthood,  which  will  not  be 
ready  for  about  another  year.  In  the  meantime,  it  is  recommended  that 
the  present  class  roll-book  be  used  for  a  quorum  record,  until  the  new  one 
is  printed  and  ready  for  sale.  The  class  roll-book  may  be  obtained,  free 
of  charge,  upon  application  to  the  Presiding  Bishop's  office. 

New  Course  of  Study.— From  the  replies  received  from  stake 
presidencies,  in  answer  to  enquiries,  it  is  learned  that  many  of  the  wards 
in  the  Church  are  behind  in  their  Manual  lessons,  and  that  most  of  the 
stakes  would  prefer  to  continue,  for  the  remaining  part  of  this  winter 
and  spring,  to  study  the  1910  course.  This  has  led  the  General  Commit- 
tee to  consider  the  postponement  of  the  publication  of  the  1911  Manuals, 
— which  were  ready  for  the  printer  early  in  December — until  about 
August  1,  1911.  This  action,  if  definitely  taken,  would  enable  the 
wards  in  arrears  to  complete  their  courses.  The  seventies  also  have  post- 
poned their  Year  Book,  and  the  action  contemplated  would  thus 
place  all  the  quorums  on  a  more  uniform  date  for  beginning  the  year's 
work.  In  the  meantime,  the  quorums  everywhere  are  advised  to  con- 
tinue the  1910  course,  either  to  finish  or  as  a  review,  until  other  arrange- 
ments are  announced,  which  will  be  done  by  circular  letter  to  the  stake 
presidencies,  and  in  this  table.  It  is  certain  now  that  the  Manuals 
will  not  be  printed  for  distribution  in  Jannary,  1911  . 

Transfers. — "We  have  elders  who  should  belong  to  our  quorums," 
writes  a  quorum  president,  "but  who  do  not,  because  they  have  no  trans- 
fers recommending  them  from  the  quorum  from  which  they  removed. 
What  shall  be  done  in  such  cases?" 

Your  attention  is  called  to  paragraph  89,  of  the  Annual  Circular,  No. 
11,  from  which  you  will  notice  it  is  not  necessary  for  an  elder,  or  any 
other  person  holding  the  priesthood,  to  procure  a  recommend  from  one 
quorum  to  present  it  to  another.  Neither  should  the  quorum  insist  that, 
as  a  condition  of  acceptance  into  the  quorum,  the  person  should  furnish 
his  genealogy.  The  new  form  of  ward  recommend  provides  for  the 
genealogy  necessary: 


276  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

When  a  person  is  ordained  to  an  office  in  the  priesthood,  he  is 
entitled  to  a  certificate  of  ordination,  which  he  should  carefully  preserve. 
Whenever  necessary,  it  should  be  presented  to  the  proper  authority  as 
an  evidence  of  his  ordination  and  accepted  by  the  quorum  having  juris- 
diction in  the  ward  or  stake  where  he  resides;  and  he  should  be  permitted 
to  join  that  quorum  without  any  recommend  from  the  quorum  where  he 
formerly  resided,  provided  he  has  been  accepted  as  a  member  of  the 
ward.  If  he  does  not  possess  a  certificate  of  ordination,  and  the  recom- 
mend upon  which  he  was  received  in  the  ward  gives  his  priesthood  and 
last  ordination,  it  should  be  accepted  as  evidence  that  he  holds  that 
office,  and  he  should  be  admitted  to  fellowship  to  the  quoroum,  provided 
there  is  no  evidence  to  the  contrary. 

The  Ideal  Teachers'  Quorum. — "As  God  hath  distributed  to 
every  man,  as  the  Lord  hath  called  every  one,  so  let  him  walk,  and  so 
ordain  I  in  all  churches"  (I  Cor.  7:  17). 

' '  Wherefore  let  every  man  learn  his  duty,  and  to  act  in  the  office  in 
which  he  is  appointed,  in  all  diligence"  (Doc.  and  Cov.  107,  99). 

The  ideal  teachers r  quorum  is  to  number  twenty- four;  to  be  presided 
over  by  a  president  and  two  counselors  from  their  number;  a  secretary 
should  note  the  quorum's  proceedings.  The  quorum  should  meet  often 
to  learn  the  duties  that  devolve  upon  them,  and  carry  them  out  daily  by 
mingling  with  the  Saints;  exorting  all  to  be  faithful  in  righteousness; 
ministering  to  the  Church  continually;  seeing  that  iniquity  does  not  exist; 
adjusting  any  ill  feelings  that  may  exist  between  Church  members; 
attending  to  ward  meetings;  and  living  an  exemplary  life.  Whatever 
may  add  to  bring  to  a  full  fruition  the  admonition,  "Live  in  peace,  one 
with  another,"  should  ever  be  the  thought  of  the  ordained  teacher.  The 
quorum  member  who  would  act  with  diligence  to  fulfil  these 
duties,  under  the  direction  of  the  ward  authorities,  would  be  counted 
faithful  in  the  office  to  which  he  is  appointed. 

What  right  has  any  member  to  say,  "We  can't  do  that!"  Are  we 
falterers?  Why  not  obtain  the  spirit  that  Nephi  possessed,  when  he  gave 
this  thought,  that  the  Lord  giveth  not  a  commandment,  save  a  way 
will  be  provided  for  its  fulfilment. 

To  be  a  member  of  a  teachers'  quorum  is  to  be  one  who  knows  how 
to  obey — to  obey  when  a  decision  is  rendered,  a  command  given,  a  desire 
expressed  by  the  officers.  It  is  to  see  that  your  part  in  the  work  assigned 
is  done  so  well  that  its  effect  is  better  than  the  conditions  war- 
ranted. To  hold  up  the  hands  of  the  officers;  to  give  suggestions, 
to  be  active,  to  put  life  into  duties,  is  a  member's  responsibility.  To  be 
a  good  member  in  any  quorum  is  to  do  for  your  officers  and  class- 
instructor  what  you  would  wish  done  by  a  member,  if  you  were  an  officer 
or  a  class-instructor. — L.  E.  Eggertsen. 


Mutual  Work. 

Questions  on  the  Senior  Manuals. 

As  to  Socialism. — A  Mutual  Improvement  worker,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Era,  complains  that  the  words  in  the  Senior  Manual  (p.  40)  "Socialists, 
it  must  be  remembered,  include  anarchists  and  nihilists  at  one  extreme, 
and  so-called  Christian  socialists  at  the  other,"  are  unfair,  and  that 
there  is  no  authority  quoted  for  the  definition.  Our  correspondent  is  in 
error  on  both  counts.  The  footnote  to  the  preceding  page  gives  Profes- 
sor Nicholson  as  authority  for  the  whole  paragraph  on  socialistic  reme- 
dies.    Professor  Nicholson's  exact  words  are: 

"From  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  meaning  to  be  attached  to  social- 
ism is  extremely  elastic  and  indefinite.  It  would  probably  be  impossible 
to  give  a  definition  that  would  cover  all  the  various  schemes  which 
have  been  styled  by  their  authors,  or  their  critics,  socialistic.  At  one 
extreme  we  have  anarchists  and  nihilists,  and  at  the  other  so-called  Chris- 
tian Socialists;  and  between  them  are  endless  varieties.  Accordingly, 
nothing  is  easier  than  to  accuse  the  critic  of  fighting  a  creature  of  his 
own  imagining,  and  not  'true'  or  'actual'  Socialism."  (Principles, vol.  1, 
p.  426. 

No  higher  authority  than  Professor  Nicholson  can  be  given,  when  it 
comes  to  quoting  authorities  on  economic  questions. 

But  this  quotation  needs  an  additional  word  of  explanation.  Profes- 
sor Nicholson  (and,  of  course,  the  Manual)  takes  a  point  of  view  outside 
Socialism.  A  point  outside  of  Socialism  must  be  selected  from  which  to 
view  the  doctrines  of  socialists.  Otherwise  some  one  of  the  various 
forms  would  have  to  be  chosen  as  the  representative  of  the  socialistic 
group — which  would  give  the  author  of  the  Manual  all  sorts  of  trouble, 
and  lay  him  open  a  good  deal  to  the  charge  of  either  being  "ignorant" 
or  of  wishing  "to  misrepresent."  The  widest  latitude  in  definition  was 
chosen  in  order  to  satisfy  the  largest  number  of  persons. 

Play  and  work. — Another  Improvement  worker  wishes  to  know 
why  professional  base-ball  playing  is  labor,  and  the  efforts  of  a  boat's 
crew  not  labor?"  The  first  paragraph,  in  Lesson  4,  explains  this  point 
on  a  close  reading.  However,  we  add  another  word  to  try  to  clear  up 
the  matter. 

The  professional  ball-player  gets  money  for  his  ball-playing.  Hence 
his  exertion  is  labor.  If  he  did  not  get  pay  for  his  service,  it  would 
be  play.  'Likewise,  the  boat's  crew,  if  they  get  money  for  their  rowing, 
are  working.  If  they  do  not  get  pay,  they  are  not.  That  is  the  whole 
point  in  brief.  The  Manual  assumes,  of  course,  that  the  latter  do  not 
obtain  money  for  their  physical  exertion,  which  is  generally  the  case. 
That  is  why  the  word  "professional"  is  left  out  of  the  sentence  about 
the  boat  crew.  Gate  receipts  cut  no  figure,  for  the  reason  that  those 
who  receive  them  do  not  live  by  that  means,  and  so  are  not  professionals 
— no  matter  whether  it  is  in  boat-racing  or  ball-playing.  No  utilities 
are  created. 


Passing  Events. 


Women  gained  the  right  to  vote,  in  the  November  8  election 
in  the  state  of  Washington.  Woman  suffrage  amendments  to  the  state  con- 
stitutions were  submitted  in  that  state,  in  Oregon, South  Dakota  and  Okla- 
homa, and  all  except  Washington  rejected  the  amendments.  There  are 
five  states  in  the  United  States  in  which  women  are  now  permitted  to  vote 
on  the  same  terms  as  men,  namely:  Utah,  Wyoming,  Idaho,  Colorado,  and 
Washington. 

The  corn  crop  for  1910  was  the  greatest  ever  grown  in  the  United 
States.  The  figures  given  out  appeal  strongly  to  the  imagination.  For 
the  first  time  in  our  history  as  a  nation,  we  have  succeeded  in  producing 
three  billion  bushels.  This  amount  of  corn  translated  into  the  terms  of 
money  and  buying  power  must  necessarily  give  a  faster  beat  to  the  busi- 
ness pulse  of  the  whole  country,  and  naturally  it  will  have  a  bearing  in 
producing  better  financial  conditions  and  cheaper  food. 

Census  returns  of  the  thirteenth  census,  announced  December  10, 
show  that  Utah  has  a  population  of  373,351,  which  is  96,602  more  than 
at  the  census  of  1900,  when  the  population  was  276,749,  an  increase  of 
31.3  per  cent  in  ten  years,  making  the  state  42nd  in  rank.  Its  popula- 
tion now  entitles  the  state  to  another  Congressman,  under  the  present 
congressional  apportionment  of  194,182,  but  the  new  apportionment 
may  raise  the  number.  Five  counties  fell  behind:  Kane,  159;  Piute, 220; 
Rich,  63;  Summit,  1,239;  and  Wayne,  158;  the  other  twenty-two  counties 
all  showed  substantial  gains.  Ogden  has  25,580  inhabitants,  and  the 
population  of  the  four  leading  counties  is:  Salt  Lake,  131,426;  Utah, 
37,942;  Weber,  35,179;  Cache,  23,062. 

Wyoming  has  145,965  inhabitants;  an  increase  of  53,434,  or  57.7 
per  cent  over  1900;  50th  in  rank. 

Idaho  has  a  population  of  325,594;  an  increase  of  163,822,  or 
107.3  per  cent  over  1900;  the  state  is  46th  in  rank. 

Arizona,  204,354;  an  increase  of  81,423,  or  66.2  per  cent;  47th  in 
rank. 

The  population  of  continental  United  States  is  91,972,266;  an 
increase  in  ten  years  of  15,977,691,  or  21  per  cent.  Including  Hawaii, 
Alaska  and  Porto  Rico,  the  population  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  is 
93,402,151— Philippines  not  included. 


FASSING  EVENTS. 


279 


Count  Leo  Nikolaievitch  Tolstoi,  the  celebrated  Russian  novel- 
ist, who  was  born  in  1828,  died  on  Sunday  morning,  November  20,  1910, 

at  6  o'clock,  at  the  flag  sta- 
tion of  Astopova.  Some  days 
prior  to  his  death,  he  left  his 
home  and  family  for  the 
Caucasus  region,  but  he  died 
on  the  way.  Six  physicians 
were  in  attendance  upon  him 
at  the  little  station,  also  his 
eldest  daughter,  Tatiana.  His 
last  words  were  a  protest 
against  so  many  being  around 
the  bed  of  one  sick  man, 
"when  there  are  millions  of 
people  in  this  world  ,and  many 
of  them  suffering."  Asto- 
pova, where  he  died,  is  a 
little  railway  station,  and  the 
one-story  log  house  of  the 
station-master  was  the  only 
refuge  available  when  the 
physician  accompanying  Tol- 
stoi in  his  flight  from  home 
insisted  upon  his  stopping, on 
account  of  a  severe  attack  of 
bronchitis  and  inflammation 
of  the  lungs,  which  had  seized 
him  on  his  journey  to  the 
Caucasus,  whither  he  de- 
sired to  go  to  be  left  in  peace  to  die.  In  his  life  he  severely  lashed 
the  Russian  government,  denounced  war,  and  advocated  many 
extreme  philosophies,  as  a  protest  against  prevailing  conditions  in 
Russia.  He  was  born  of  the  nobility,  but  was  by  conviction  and  by 
choice  one  of  the  common  people.  His  most  intense  desire  was  to  lift 
them  up.  It  was  in  1884  that  the  count  decided  to  commence  living 
the  simple  life.  He  renounced  all  his  luxuries  and  comforts,  left  his  wife 
and  family,  who  were  luxuriously  located  in  the  palace  at  Yasnaya  Poly- 
ana,  to  join  the  peasants  in  their  simple  life.  The  portrait  accompany- 
ing was  taken  in  1891,  just  six  years  after  his  determination  to  lead  the 
simple  life.     He  was  excommunicated  from  the  Orthodox  Greek  Catholic 


COUNT  LEO  NIKOLAIEVITCH  TOLSTOI. 

Died  Sunday  morning,  November  20,  1910 
Born  August,  28,  1828. 


280  1MPRO  VEMENT  ERA . 

Church  some  years  ago.  He  was  buried  in  a  simple  grave,  with  simple 
ceremonies,  without  the  church  rites.  He  is  the  author  of  many  stories 
and  books,  a  number  of  which  have  been  translated  and  published  in  the 
English  language.  His  last  words  were,  "Now  comes  death;  that  is  all!'' 
said  to  his  daughter,  Tatiana,  as  he  grasped  her  hand. 

Church  and  state  questions  in  Spain  are  uppermost  in  diplo- 
matic and  religious  circles.  On  the  4th  of  November  the  special  senate, 
by  a  vote  of  109  to  58,  passed  a  so-called  "padlock  bill,"  which  forbade 
the  creation  of  further  religious  establishments  in  Spain  for  two  years. 
It  is  thought  that  a-  renewal  of  negotiations  for  a  concordat  with  the 
Vatican  will  take  place,  though  that  does  not  necessarily  savor  of  the 
religious  freedom  which  many  hope  for. 

Harriet  Amelia  F.  Young,  widow  of  President  Brigham  Young, 
died  in  Salt  Lake  City,  December  11,  1910.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
W.  H.  Folsom  and  Zeriah  Eliza  Clark,  and  was  born  in  Buffalo,  New 
York,  August  23,  1838.  With  the  family  she  came  to  the  Salt  Lake 
Valley  in  1860,  and  became  the  wife  of  President  Young,  January  24, 
1863.  She  led  among  the  women  for  many  years  and  in  many  circles, 
traveled  extensively  in  Utah  and  surrounding  states,  had  entertained 
many  distinguished  tourists  and  guests  of  President  Young,  was  well- 
read,  possessed  a  queenly  appearance  and  striking  personality,  and  was 
true  to  the  end. 

Final  official  returns  of  the  November  election,  1910,  show  that 
Washington  county  was  the  only  county  out  of  the  twenty-seven  in  the 
state  of  Utah  that  went  Democratic.  For  representative  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  Joseph  Howell,  Republican,  received  50,604  votes  in 
Utah,  as  against  32,730  for  Ferdinand Erickson,  Democrat;  a  plurality  in 
favor  of  Howells  of  17,874.  For  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  D.  N. 
Straup,  Republican,  received  50,635,  as  against  32,610  for  Charles  C. 
Richards,  Democrat;  a  plurality  in  favor  of  Straup  of  18,025.  The  vote 
in  Salt  Lake  City  for  Howell  was  11,409,  as  against  3,602  for  Erick- 
son; and  11,582  for  Straup,  as  against  3,354  for  Richards. 

The  total  vote  of  the  state  for  representative  was  102,233,  divided 
as  follows:  Republicans,  50,604,  Democrats,  32,730,  Socialists.  4,857,  of 
which  1,626  were  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  the  remainder  in  all  the  coun- 
ties of  the  state  except  Kane,  Rich,  and  San  Juan  counties;  and  14,042 
"Americans,"  of  which  11,484  were  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  the 
remainder  in  all  the  counties  of  the  state  except  Kane,  San  Juan,  Wash- 
ington and}  Wayne. 


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The  underlay  is  of  the  same  material  as  flounce  and  protects  the  ruffle.  Seams 
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DOES  YOUR  FARM  PAY 
YOU  BIG  ENOUGH  PROFITS) 

€JDo  you  make  mistakes  occasionally  that  cause  heavy  loss?  f|Do 
you  sometimes  wonder  whether  or  not  you  are  working  to  the 
best  advantage? 

THE  DESERET  FARMER 

Is  published  to  help  farmers  make  their  farms  more  profitable.  IJIt 
will  answer  the  questions  that  constantly  arise  in  your  work,  ifllt 
comes  to  you  every  week  for  $1 .00  a  year.  C|Don't  you  think 
it's  worth  that  much  to  you?     <JSend  your  Dollar  today.     ::     :: 

THE  DESERET  FARMER 

LEWIS  A.  MERRILL,  Editor,  J.  M.  KIRKHAM,  Mgr.. 

Vermont  Building,  Salt  Lake  Lehi,  Utah 


IMPROVEMENT  ERA,    JANUARY,  1911. 

Two  Dollars  per  annum  with  Manual  Free. 


Joseph  F.  Smith,  j  Fd'to  Heber  J.  Grant,  Business  Manager 

Edward  H.  Anderson,      j      1    rs        Moroni  Snow,  Assistant 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Portrait  of  Brigham  Young Frontispiece 

President  Brigham  Young's  Excursion  Party.     Il- 
lustrated     Solomon  F.  Kimball 189 

The  Voice  of  the  Shepherd.    A  Poem Theodore  E.  Curtis 201 

Just  a  Little  Blue  Stocking.     II Leila  Marler  Hoggan 202 

For  the  Development  of  Character Edward  H.  Anderson 215 

The  Inland  Sea.     A  Poem Rufus  Leigh   219 

The  Creation  of  the  Earth.     Ill Frederick  J.  Pack,  A.  M.   ..  220 

The  Fisherman.     A  Poem Dr.  J.  Lloyd  Woodruff 230 

Mapusaga,   a   Factor   in   Progressive   Samoa.      Il- 
lustrated  John  Q.  Adams 231 

Life's  Work.     A  Poem Ellen  Lee  Sanders 238 

The  Nephite  Shepherd.     II Arthur  V.  Watkins 239 

Thou  Art  Everywhere  Before  Us.     A  Poem Theodore  E.   Curtis 245 

The  New  Year.     A  Poem Kate  Thomas 246 

The  Crown  of  Individuality.     XIII William  George  Jordan....  248 

Pen  Pictures  of  the  Holy  Land.     Ill Hamilton   Gardner    253 

Toseph  Smith,  A  Prophet  of  God.     Ill  George   W.   Crockwell 259 

The  Worth  of  a  Boy David  D.  Rust 263 

Editors'   Table  : — Baptism    President  Joseph  F.  Smith. .  266 

Wrong  Again — and  "There's  a  Reason" 269 

The  Two  Roads 270 

Messages  from  the   Missions 272 

Priesthood    Quorums   Table 275 

Mutual  Work  277 

Passing  Events   278 


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